Getting Over Carter
by enzosprite
Summary: Trying to read Jack O'Neill was like trying to read Ancient. Unless you were Daniel Jackson, you just couldn't. Season 8. Jack/Daniel Friendship. Sam/Jack.
1. Start As You Mean To Go On

**I wrote this awhile back, and found it BETAED in my shared Google Docs. How industrious of my beta! **

**Still working on PD20; Don't worry this has several chapters written already, so won't be interfering with my WIP. **

**Please let me know what you think, since this is one of my early SG-1 fics. I wrote this after originally abandoning PD - It was when Season 8 first aired and I was so disgusted by Sam's acceptance of Pete's ring, that this came about. **

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

She'd been distraught when he'd knocked at her door looking so much like the man she was mourning that it didn't matter in her mind that he wasn't.

It was easy to take advantage of the situation, his pity for her made him less resistant to her advances. She'd known what she was doing was wrong, that it would make it difficult for him to work with Captain Carter, but she couldn't summon the energy to care at the time. Her heart had been breaking every night that she'd spent going to bed without her husband and she hoped for just one night to feel whole again.

He hadn't stayed the night of course. He'd left her afterwards, looking guilty and confused. She knew he was thinking of Captain Carter and what it all meant for all of them.

She too felt guilty, but the feeling of being with him had over ridden everything else. Then things started to happen quickly and before she knew it she was back home and losing him once again, or as he had gently reminded her, the first time.

Once things had settled down a bit, her determination to fix things and put everything back into place had dulled the ever present pain she felt. He was gone and was never coming back. They, she, had a lot to do and it would take literally years to accomplish all they had planned. She was needed and she had to step up. Her husband would've wanted it that way. He had been a survivor and she was going to survive for him. She smiled. For them.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**_Orilla, New Asgard Homeworld_**

The recently defrosted Colonel Jack O'Neill opened his eyes and found himself waking up for the second time in unfamiliar surroundings. _I really shouldn't make a habit of this_, he thought to himself.

"Jack, you okay?"

"Daniel."

"Um, yeah. How do you feel?" Daniel squinted at him.

He frowned up at his friend and thought of a suitable answer. He figured straightforward honesty was best. "Well, actually, I feel pretty good. Better, even. I haven't felt this good in... Ever."

Daniel cleared his throat. "Hmm. That's good, Jack, that's very good."

His eyes narrowed at Daniel's rather shifty attitude. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Daniel? Like maybe what happened this time and why for the second time I've found myself waking up to you?"

Daniel frowned. "You don't remember? Thor said you'd remember everything."

He'd had enough. This was getting ridiculous, he needed answers and he needed them now.

"Help me up," he said extending his hand. Daniel grasped his forearm in assistance.

He felt slightly disorientated, blood rapidly rushing to his head, black spots circling in his vision. He closed his eyes to dispel the image. Opening his eyes once again, he was able to finally take in the room he was in.

"What the hell are we still doing in Orilla?"

Daniel cleared his throat before answering. "You collapsed."

He shook his head as if trying to shake the memory back into place.

"Well, to be more precise, you died."

He paused, his hand in mid-scratch at the back of his head. "_Come again_?"

"You died, Jack. Thor beamed us back to his ship and then you collapsed."

"Oy!"

"Yeah, another one of those days."

"So," he said jumping off the surface that the Asgard used as a bed and took a better look around the room. One side of the room was covered in glass that he guessed was of the same construction as that used in Asgard ships. Beyond and far below them lay a carpet of trees. A forest, really. It seemed that the grey aliens, like the other members of the four advanced races, had a thing for the green stuff. "More trees, huh. Same old, same old."

Daniel smirked at him. Smirked. "Not quite, Jack. Not quite." The younger man gestured at something beyond the room and he followed with his eyes.

A bathroom.

"That bad?" He asked, remembering a similar incident after, ironically, the Asgard had dropped them off on a planet after saving the aliens' collective asses from the Replicators the first time. He gave himself a little sniff.

Daniel gave an exasperated sigh. "Just go in the bathroom."

"Alright," he shrugged and sauntered into the lavatory. The lights came on immediately once he crossed the threshold and revealed utilitarian looking facilities. Sink, toilet, shower. All brand new and unused, he figured. The Asgard were actually thinking of human creature comforts. He turned back to Daniel. "Yeah, so what?"

Daniel pointed behind him. He muttered something under his breath, getting tired of this cryptic crap. "Why don't you just-" he suddenly stopped mid-sentence and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Holy Buckets! "Oh, for crying out loud! What the hell did they do to me?"

"Jack-"

"No!" he stopped Daniel with a pointed finger. "When a person dies, you resuscitate them; you do not perform plastic surgery and pump them with that Bollox -

"Botox!"

"-stuff." He finished. He turned around again and looked himself over in the mirror. He looked... strange. Almost shiny from being 'new'.

Daniel interrupted Jack's self assessment. "They didn't pump you with any toxin or perform surgery on you. What would be the point? Anyway, the - the Asgard had more pressing concerns than making cosmetic changes, they were too busy trying to save your life."

"Then explain this!" He pointed at his face angrily.

"They cloned you!"

He gaped at Daniel, flabbergasted at his explanation. "Run that by me again?"

"Well-"

"The abbreviated version," he warned.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "You collapsed. Thor transported you to his ship. Seems your brain had suffered irreparable damage from the Ancient download. He froze you again, created a clone, and transferred your consciousness to your new body."

"Then why the hell don't I look myself?"

"Well you do. Just... younger."

"Yeah, what's with that?"

"Look, Jack, the Asgard have perfected - well, mostly perfected - the transfer of consciousness from one body to another. They've been doing it for millennia. Thor assures us that the Asgard cloning problem didn't affect them until many, many clones later. Your new body is essentially perfect. Thor aged you to the point at which he figured you'd feel comfortable."

Jack turned back to the mirror and studied the much younger face looking back at him. "How old do you think I am?"

Daniel frowned behind his glasses and looked at his reflection. "Umm, I'd say thirty something, maybe? Younger than when we first met."

"Thor does a good job."

"Hmm?"

"A little too good, Daniel. I look brand spanking new!" Where the hell where his laugh lines? He'd had them at thirty. Harlan had done a better job at reproducing him, scars and all. This new body looked a bit too artificial, too perfect without the reminders of his past pains.

Daniel snorted behind him. "Only you would complain at getting a new, younger version of yourself."

"Ah, been there, done that!" He already had a clone back on earth. Wasn't there enough of him going around? Was he even the original anymore? Technically, he wasn't by all accounts.

"This is different, Jack. We had no choice. We couldn't just let you die."

"You know, I specifically had a living will to prevent this exact sort of thing. No extraordinary means, doesn't that mean anything to anyone?"

"Like I said, this is different. The Asgard had the technology to keep you alive. You're too important to everyone."

He snorted at that. He was a pain in the ass Colonel who'd broken to many rules, made too many enemies, and they thought he was too important? Sometimes he wondered at the collective intelligence of the Asgard at choosing him to be their favorite Tau'ri. He was just the unlucky idiot who didn't learn his lessons very well and kept literally sticking his head where it didn't belong.

"Jack, can't you just be happy to be alive? Think of this as a blessing. This gives you a couple of more decades on the field."

"Oh yeah. Another twenty years of being shot at, sarcophagused, implanted..." he grumbled.

"Look, the deed is done. We can't undo what's happened. Just accept it, okay?"

Daniel left the bathroom, leaving him alone to continue staring at himself. This was going to take some explaining once they got back to the SGC. He didn't relish the briefing with Dr. Weir. He really missed Hammond.

Speaking of the SGC, where the hell was the rest of his team? Wasn't Carter the one who was usually roped in to explain all this science fiction stuff to him rather than Daniel? He got a sudden sinking feeling. Why wasn't she here? Did something happen after they beamed on board Thor's ship? Did Fifth do more than she'd let on?

Forgetting his own troubles momentarily, he went after Daniel determined to find out where Carter was.

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><p>Jack eventually found his way to his quarters after wandering the Asgard facility for what seemed like hours. Daniel had done a disappearing act and he found no one in the corridors to ask for directions. He'd looked around until he got tired of looking and walking in bare feet - where the hell were his shoes, anyway? - and traced his way back to the room in which he'd woken up.<p>

Someone had been in during his walkabout and left some Asgard food blocks and, he was happy to find, his combat boots and BDUs. Now, if he could only find his team and Thor and book it back to Earth, he'd be a happy man.

He picked up one of the blocks on the plate and gave it an experimental sniff.

"Thor likes the yellow ones."

"Hmm." He stuffed one in his mouth and chewed slowly. "Tastes like Swarfega."

Sam Carter approached him hesitantly, unsure how to act around him for some reason. He looked so... Hot.

"How you doin' sir?"

Jack sighed and put the remaining yellow block of food back on the plate. "Just peachy." He said nonchalantly. "Been cloned again, you know?"

"Yes, sir. You seem to have a penchant for it."

"Yes, well, not exactly something I'd like to be known for."

Sam cleared her throat, her mouth suddenly feeling dry just by looking at him. "Teal'c and Daniel are waiting for us back on Thor's ship. We're ready when you are."

Jack grunted something and pulled off the drab grey shirt they'd put him in. He didn't bother asking Carter to turn around, she knew the drill. He untied the drawstring of his pants and stepped out of them, glad that who ever undressed him had bothered with underwear, no matter how 'brief'.

Sam just stared at her commanding officer, forgetting she was supposed to turn around for the sake of his modesty, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to look at him with naked lust in her eyes, or that she was supposed to be in love with someone else.

He was down to his underwear and she couldn't help but note that he more than filled it, and that the rest of his body was just as tight. His body looked ripped, toned, perfect. The Asgard had created the ideal body for the Colonel, although she suspected that he'd looked something like this at a similar age. Jack O'Neill had been a soldier all his life, a trained killer, and a master strategist. He would've trained his body to peak performance and that meant something like this body she couldn't help but ogle.

She noted that he'd done up his belt and was about to look up and she quickly turned away, her face burning at the thought of being caught staring at him. "You done sir?"

"Let's, Carter. Don't want to outstay our welcome!" Jack said cheerily, pushing her forward towards the doorway.

Sam looked over at her right shoulder where he'd touched her briefly and felt a tingle. Oh, Boy!

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><p>Daniel half jogged to catch up to Jack as his friend exited the elevator on sub-level 22 on his way to the commissary. He'd been looking for the man for the past half hour, but the newly minted General had proven elusive.<p>

"So, rumor has it you've accepted the big chair."

"And the rumors would be right," Jack replied not pausing in his stride.

"Have you thought of what this would mean for SG-1?"

"Oh yeah," Jack once again replied not once glancing at Daniel.

"O-kay. Let me rephrase that: I thought having this new body thing was a way of keeping you in the field longer? Now, you're- you're just gonna be in the sidelines watching Walter dial up the chevrons!"

Jack pushed the commissary doors open with both arms forcing Daniel to step behind him. "I didn't have a choice in this whole 'body thing' remember? This wasn't in the plan. Besides, Carter's ready. She'll make a wonderful leader for SG-1."

"That's not the point Jack..."

"Then what is your point, Daniel?" Jack grabbed a tray from a stack and brought it over to the dessert counter and loaded it with two plates of cake. He brought the tray over to an empty table, pulled up a chair and sat down. Jack placed a plate in front of him moved the other across the table where Daniel also pulled up a chair.

"I guess I don't really have one. We just don't want to lose you on the team, Jack. It's not gonna be the same without you. Don't get me wrong, Sam's gonna be great, but I just don't understand why you decided to accept the promotion now."

"To be fair, Daniel, they've never offered before." Jack said quietly.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. " Oh."

"Yeah" Jack smiled now playing with his cake. "If I turn this down, they might not offer again." He cleared his throat. "Besides I didn't want to deal with another idiot like Bauer from the Pentagon who knows zilch about running the SGC. It's not like Hammond's gonna be allowed to come back, it'd be like a demotion for him from being head of Homeworld Security."

Daniel nodded his head in understanding. He dug into his cake and smiled up at their fearless leader. "I think the Pentagon has finally done something right."

Jack laughed. "Yep. Me as the big cheese, el jefe, the big kahuna..."

"THE Man," Daniel added laughing with him.

"I spent most of my life stickin' it to The Man."

"And now you're it."

"Maybe I could tell them I changed my mind..."

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><p><strong>Let me know if you guys think Chapter 2 is worth posting. If not, I'll just stick to PD for now until that's done and dusted, and will start on a different story I'm currently outlining. xx<strong>


	2. Lost in Irony

**Seems you guys actually want to read this =) Here's another chapter for being so dang awesome and reviewing! **

**To My Reviers w/o an account: **

**Kate - I don't actually explore Sam's experience with Fifth in this story. This focuses more on Jack, how he attempts to move on from his feelings for Sam, and how that affects his relationship with the rest of SG-1, with Daniel in particular. The whole Fifth and RepliCarter is something I explore in my other fanfic, Plausible Deniability, if that's a sort of story you'd like to read. A bit of a warning though: It's over 100K words at the moment, so it's not something you can just dip into ;-)**

**Kahuna - You do make my evenings! Insightful reviews are like manna from heaven. And YEP, this is my 'Carter must suffer for hurting O'Neill' fic. LOL! BTW, I've posted the Outtake for PD if you haven't already read it. **

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 2: Lost in Irony<strong>

The 'old' Jack O'Neill had never been that interested in gadgets and blinking things. He had a cell phone, a cd player in his truck, no computer at home and his Gameboy was a relic of the 80s. He left it to Carter and even Daniel to play with the 'neat' new toys consumers seemed so eager to devour these days.

But for some unknown reason - known only to the Asgard - the little grays had found it necessary to play around with his cloned brain and make a few tweaks. In Jack's opinion, he was now brain damaged. Off his rocker. No longer in possession of ones faculty. One fry short of a... Oh, hey, neat!

Jack's brain quickly shifted into fascinated mode as he watched the animated 3D shapes rotating and merging from one form to another on his cell phone. He'd hacked it this morning during a briefing with SG-13. Dave Dixon had fallen asleep during Balinsky's fascinating account of Menoan culture on P6X-229, and Jack had pretended to be making notes on his computer, nodding at all the right places, grunting at others, Balinsky completely oblivious to his audience's inattention too busy clicking away on the projector.

He'd had no idea what compelled him to click on the little icon of some kind of bull on his applications dock, or what made him learn and install the program on the machine in the first place, but he'd had the image of the shapes in his head and his fingers did the walking. He'd written the simple program that demonstrated trig and fixed-point arithmetic and sent the program to his cell phone. The result fascinated him.

It was just a few shapes merging and rotating. A neat phone screen saver. But to Jack it represented something else. It showed him a new part of himself that hadn't been there before and it scared him a little.

Carter was the brains of the base. He was the muscle. He was far from stupid before, but he never fooled himself into thinking that he'd ever understand the words that came out of Carter's mouth completely. Her intelligence was just too out there. They'd traipsed around the galaxy going head to head with more advanced societies and Carter still proved that she could out think the best of them.

Now he found himself more than capable of understanding her. Ever since he'd been cloned he'd started to notice that he was definitely different. Better everything physically. He could hear the birds in the morning like they'd been amplified. Food tasted better, probably because this body had never tasted tobacco. He saw things better at night, not even realizing he'd forgotten to turn his headlights until another car had flashed him.

The downside was, he couldn't tell anyone. Since Janet was gone, he couldn't trust anyone in the infirmary to keep his little secret.

So, he had to play it dumb as always, although this time around it was far more difficult. There had been a few times where he'd wanted to contribute something and he was about to open his mouth to tell Carter and had to quickly shut his mouth. He wasn't supposed to know that stuff and Carter would know it.

There would be questions he wasn't prepared to answer and didn't want the damned NID sniffing around the SGC making claims that he was a liability. No way in hell. He could just see the NID demanding that he step down because he'd been 'influenced' by alien allies; or even worse, demand that he be subjected to 'tests'. No freaking way was he gonna be a lab rat.

Jack was roused from his dark thoughts by a knock on his office door. He opened the top drawer in his desk, dropped the cell phone in and quickly closed it. "Come in!"

Daniel poked his head in. "Hey, Jack."

"Daniel!" He pushed away from behind the desk and stood up, still not feeling all that comfortable talking to Daniel in that position. "Get in here."

Daniel looked around, frowning suspiciously at Jack. He shrugged as if deciding it was safe enough and sat down in one of the chairs. Jack propped himself up on the edge of his desk and stared questioningly at the archaeologist.

"_Oui_?"

"I need to contact Langara."

"_Pourquoi_?"

"I need to talk to Jonas about the rubbings I sent him from P3X-666. I've finally found the time go over the last of them, including copies of the ones I asked Jonas to help with and I think I've found something big."

"Something big?" Jack repeated, adding quote marks with his fingers.

"It mentions a city. Obviously not Atlantis since we've... kinda... found it, but another outpost, a much larger one in our own galaxy. I also found this," He handed Jack his notepad.

"A gate address," Jack quickly recognized the six symbols as one that didn't appear on the Abydos cartouche or one of the addresses that he'd entered whilst he'd carried the ancient download. Another gift of the Asgard: Eidetic memory.

"He's had these rubbings for months, he should be done translating them by now. I want to know why he hasn't contacted us."

"You think something's gone wrong?" Jack speculated.

"Baal's already sent one Goa'uld spy to Kelowna. We can't discount anything."

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><p>Daniel was in his lab prepping the rest of his kit for the upcoming mission to PX1 313, the planet where they hoped was an Ancient outpost. Jack had contacted the Kelownan council in order to speak to Jonas Quinn. They were informed that Jonas had taken a trip to the Stargate and had not returned. The Council woman went as far as to inform General O'Neill that if they found Mr. Quinn to inform that he no longer had a position to return to.<p>

Jonas' disappearance supported Daniel's suspicion that Jonas had indeed finished translating the rubbings and was either coerced or for some unknown reason, had gone to the planet fully cognizant.

The latter disturbed Daniel more. What would compel the young man to just abandon everything, not leave a note or even mention to anyone what he was going to do? Did it have anything to do with the tension Daniel and everyone else in the Control Room had sensed from the Kelownan Council? Jonas had abandoned his home world once, had he done it again for similarly good reasons?

Daniel gave up speculating and zipped up his pack, happy with its contents. Jack always complained about over packing and despite Daniel's constant reminder that they _needed_ those things, Jack still ribbed him about it. Now that Sam was his new CO - _Man, it was weird thinking of her that way!_ - he was still careful to only pack the essentials.

Of course, he wasn't so sure now if they were going to have Sam for that much longer. Sure, she'd always put her career first in the past, but her acceptance of Pete's ring made Daniel think that it was the beginning of the end of SG-1.

It started with Jack's promotion and now with Sam getting married, he was sure the team was set to break up. Daniel kinda got the feeling that Pete wasn't too happy with Sam's job and the moment they tied the knot, he'd be demanding kids and that meant no more gate travel for Sam. Knowing Sam, she wouldn't risk gate travel, leaving a child of hers motherless. Young Sam had been through that and the older Sam Carter wouldn't let it happen to her own child. She'd probably still work in the labs, but she might as well just be Doctor Carter (Shanahan?) because in effect, Lieutenant Colonel Carter The Soldier, would be gone.

Which was ironic really.

Sam had 'Gotten a life' only because she believed that she couldn't have the man she was in love with, only to end up out of the field, stuck inside a lab and all the reasons she wasn't with Jack gone. It was a damned Greek tragedy and Daniel was forced to watch it unfold.

He'd tried speaking to Jack about it, told him the reasons why he should stop this train wreck that was about to happen, but Jack had recited his tired old mantra: _"She's my subordinate" "Her career is important to her" "I would never ask her to give up what she's worked so hard for"._

_"Well, Jack. Pete's not as noble as you. He would ask her to give it all up for him and she'll do it out of guilt instead of the right reasons_." He'd said to his friend.

Jack O'Neill being the obstinate fool that he was, didn't want to hear it. He respected Sam's decisions and if they turned out to be wrong, then he would always be there to support her. Jack was noble alright, _and_ stupid.

If it had been Sha're, he wouldn't have let her go so easily. He knew that Jack loved Sam just as much as Daniel loved his wife, but Jack's love had always been tainted with feelings of dishonor and the forbidden. Jack was above all else honorable and whilst he broke a lot of rules, he would never break that one rule that kept him and Sam apart. It was unselfish, self-sacrificing, so Jack O'Neill.

Jack was a good man and Daniel was sad that Sam hadn't been willing to wait for his friend, like Jack would always wait for her.

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><p>Jack wandered into Daniel's lab and found the younger man staring off into space. It seemed that Jonas' disappearance had upset Daniel more than Jack had realized.<p>

He knocked on the open door. "Daniel, you okay?"

Daniel quickly turned to him and took a deep breath, his thoughts miles or is it light years away?

He saw Daniel remove his glasses and massage the space between his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Just fine. What can I do for you Jack?" Daniel saw what he was wearing and looked at his watch. "It's only five. You're already leaving?"

Jack picked up one of Daniel's 'Rocks' and started playing with it. "I've decided to take my own advice and get a life, Spacemonkey. You game?"

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 is almost ready to post. Let me know what you think of this so far. Reviews are wonderful incentives to write fic instead, of say, doing laundry, exercising, feeding my ravenous kids... <strong>


	3. Dee World, She's-ah Round

**A very big THANK YOU to all my readers and wonderfully insightful reviewers. You guys rock. I love all your suggestions, and views on the characters. Keep them coming please =)**

**Warnings: Language. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Dee World, She's-ah round! <strong>

Jack drove him back to his place to get 'suitable' change of clothing. Daniel had no idea where they were going to get a life, but it seemed to require his trainers and work out clothes. He ran up to his apartment to change while Jack waited in his truck and five minutes later, he was back and they were driving away to their destination.

They ended up at a leisure centre near the downtown area and Jack motioned for him to follow into the building. Daniel looked around the bland concrete walls, notice boards, trophy cases and wide double doors that seem to be the choice of decor for public centers.

He quickly walked after Jack who was opening one of the double doors that lead to a brightly lit gymnasium.

"O'Neill! We started to think you weren't gonna show!" Daniel heard the familiar voice shout out.

Jack dropped his small gym bag on a bench and walked sedately over to Dave Dixon who was casually dribbling a basketball. Dixon glanced at Daniel briefly, clearly a bit surprise to see him there, but didn't comment.

He remained near the benches so he didn't hear Jack's reply and looked at the other guys in the court. He recognized all of them as SGC personnel, and he had to confess, most of them he'd never seen outside of base and uniform. They all nodded at him. Siler, Simmons, Reynolds, Griff, and of course Lou Ferretti.

"Last person we expected Jack to bring," Ferretti told Daniel as he passed the second basketball to Simmons who caught it with ease. The Major jogged over to Daniel and gripped his arm in greeting.

Lou Ferretti had been on that first Abydos mission and he'd been a complete asshole to Daniel. Almost a decade of knowing each other had changed the military man's opinion of Daniel. They now had respect that was forged from shared battles and lost comrades. Ferretti no longer saw the archaeologist as a bumbling geeky scientist; Daniel had proven everyone that he was a good soldier.

"Ferretti." Daniel smiled back at the smaller man. He looked back at the other guys back in the court now doing lay ups. "So... You guys meet up a lot outside the base?"

"What? These guys-" Ferretti indicated behind him with his thumb. "we meet up every month or so when Dave's wife lets him out. We call it the 'Flat Earth Society'. At first it was just a bunch of us going to the bar having drinks and stuff. Dave twisted his ankle a couple of times and his wife banned him from going, so we decided less on the alcohol and more on the 'stuff'."

Daniel saw Simmons bag a three pointer. "Hey, Graham's pretty good. He never struck me as the athletic type."

Ferretti looked fondly at the young man. "He's a great kid. He'll never be combat material, but he's really good in the court."

"Hey!" Dave yelled at the two of them. "You ladies gonna play or what?"

"I'll show you who's the pussy around here, Dixon!" Ferretti yelled back. He slapped Daniel on the back. "I hope you're good, Jackson. I wanna be able to back that up!"

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><p>The 'FES' guys were pretty evenly matched and Jack's team only won by several points. He, Jack, Ferretti and Griff were on the same team. Dixon, Reynolds, Siler and Simmons on the other. As Lou had said, Simmons was a good player, much better than Daniel and if it weren't for Jack and Ferretti's skills in the court, it would've been a massacre on their side.<p>

Daniel noted that Jack's new body was a definite advantage. He was fitter and faster than any of the guys. His economy of movement serving him well; not that he needed it. Jack had always been a bundle of energy, but this younger version seemed even more so. Whilst the rest of the guys looked about ready to collapse after the game, Jack was doing layups, his muscled body gleaming with sweat.

"Hey, O'Neill! Quit showing off to the ladies. Just show'em your star. That'll get them!" Major Griff laughed at his own joke, the other guys joining in.

Daniel glanced at the bleachers, and indeed there were a few ladies eyeing Jack's little performance, or most likely, his attributes. A couple of teenage girls, not much older than Cassie, were giggling and staring at the man that was old enough to be their grandfather, even if he didn't look it.

Jack made a face and jogged towards them. "Assholes," The general muttered at Griff. This only set off the guys again, Dave Dixon slapping Jack in the back hard enough to hurt.

O'Neill pulled off his sleeveless shirt and used it to wipe up his face. "So, where we going for some chow?"

"Nice Italian place, General. Cannelloni just like my mother used to make," Ferretti replied.

Jack nodded. "Sounds good."

They hit the showers before heading over to the restaurant. It was an upscale place and Jack was pretty sure they wouldn't feed a bunch of sweaty ballers. Ferretti gave them directions to the restaurant and the eight men descended on the unsuspecting eatery.

* * *

><p>Sam Carter shifted uncomfortably in her chair trying to keep the smile firmly on her face.<p>

_Why the hell did I agree to wear this stupid dress?_ She thought to herself.

_"Because Pete bought it thinking you would look gorgeous in it, not at all caring that it revealed too much thighs when you're sitting down,"_ was the snarky reply from her internal monologue. She felt like the whole restaurant was staring at her legs thinking she was some... well it didn't bear thinking.

Her fiancé was retelling an incident that had happened to him at work last week that involved a dog, a clown and a monkey and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why he thought it was so funny. But like the dutiful fiancé, she had to be supportive and keep smiling at Pete's increasingly annoying sense of humor. She'd found it adorable and quirky at the beginning, but it had rapidly become childish and did she mention really, really annoying?

She missed acerbic, sarcastic and dry humor.

"So, what'd you do at work today?" Pete asked her, finally finished with his story.

_Well, lets see... I adjusted the power distribution of our naquadah reactor. I prepped my kit for tomorrow's mission to PX1 313, making sure we had the tech specs for a ZPM just in case we do find an Ancient outpost and hopefully find Jonas safe and sound..._

Sam smiled, flashing Pete her dimples. That usually dissuaded another argument about her job. "You know I can't discuss-"

"I get it, I get it!" Pete preempted "It's classified." He sighed in resignation. This was an old issue with them. "It just makes it difficult to make conversation, you know?"

A little voice inside Sam's head muttered that she never had to make conversation with Jack, er, General O'Neill.

"I know and I'm sorry," she apologized for what felt like the umpteenth time. She really didn't want to get into this again, not tonight.

"Colonel Carter. Fancy seeing you here!"

She looked up thankfully at the man who'd approached their table, giving her a slight reprieve. "Ferretti!"

He smiled widely at Sam and then glanced at Pete deciding to introduce himself. "Colonel Lou Ferretti. I work with the Lt. Colonel in Cheyenne Mountain."

Pete shook the proffered hand, his previously darkening mood gone. He was now grinning. "Detective Pete Shannahan, Sam's fiancé."

Ferretti raised his eyebrows. "You don't say. Hey, I bet the guys would love to meet the lucky son of a gun who caught the Colonel here," He said winking at Sam.

Sam frowned, her mouth parting slightly in confusion, and turned to look at the entrance near the bar. _Oh God. What was he doing here?!_

Ferretti motioned to where Sam was looking. "General O'Neill's trying to get us a table. The place is booked up, but if anyone can charm the birds from the trees, it's Jack."

Pete scoffed in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me, right? That lady's cold. Several guys from my precinct have tried to get her number. They were all shot down."

"Well I guess you've never seen the General in a dog fight. He's never gone down."

The three of them watched the General smile at the lady in question, gesticulating briefly before shoving his hands in his pocket. The Maitre D laughed at something he said and started flipping through her reservation book. O'Neill said something again, and the woman flicked her hair back.

Ferretti grinned widely. "Houston, we've got lift off!"

Sam saw her fiancé shrug. "Maybe she found a cancellation or something."

"She's writing something..." Ferretti told them.

They watched as the Maitre D scrawled something on a piece of paper then handed it to O'Neill. The General glanced at it smiling back at the woman and quickly pocketed the folded paper.

"He got us both a table and her number. Sweet!" Ferretti crowed.

Sam and Pete both gapped at what just happened. Pete because Jack O'Neill had just accomplished what half the guys from his precinct couldn't do and Sam because she couldn't believe that Jack had actually flirted with that woman. She was half his age, for god sake! What was he thinking even looking at her?

Then it hit her. In the eyes of that woman, Jack wasn't twice her age; and if Sam were being honest with herself, if Jack had flirted with the woman before he was cloned, it would be the same outcome. General O'Neill would have her number and the woman wouldn't care about his age because any woman would be lucky to have him.

Sam had never seen the General in action before and she suspected that was because Jack thought himself too old for that sort of thing. Aside from his off color remarks in Hak'tyl and the lingering looks at Ishta's warriors, General O'Neill was never the type to use his charms in order to get his way. In fact, charming wasn't the word most of the aliens they'd encountered would use to describe her erstwhile Colonel.

She saw that Jack had seen them and was it her imagination or did he look suddenly uncomfortable? He walked over to their table and smiled tightly at Sam and acknowledged Pete.

He turned to Ferretti. "You owe me, Louis. That young lady's going to be very, very unhappy if I don't call her." He reached into his pocket. "Give this to Graham and tell him to take her somewhere nice."

"She's hot, Jack," Ferretti muttered under his breath.

"She's just a kid," O'Neill replied. He met her gaze and they lingered. Everything seemed to fade away and it was just the two of them in a perfect moment. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard Ferretti say something.

"The rest of the guys are here, Jack."

O'Neill turned away and the moment was broken. "Good to see you again, Shanahan. Carter, I'll see you tomorrow morning bright eyed and bushy tailed!"

With that, he pulled Ferretti away to join the rest of the gang.

* * *

><p>"Funny seeing Sam and Pete here."<p>

"Funny."

"They celebrating the engagement?"

"No idea, Daniel. Wasn't going to ask." He took a swig of his beer bottle not really in the mood to discuss this particular topic with Daniel. He gave the younger man a warning glare telling him silently that he wasn't going to talk about this now.

Daniel being Daniel, just ignored the look his friend was sending him and continued on. "Maybe we should invite them to join us... Get to know Pete better."

"Daniel. I swear to God..." Jack was about ready to take his bottle and hit Daniel over the head with it. Get to know _Pete_ better?! Fucking hell, he didn't even want to know the man existed much less get all friendly with him! He may have told Carter that she deserved to have a life and be happy, but there was no way he was gonna stick around and watch it happen. He'd learned to accept that she was no longer his - was never his - and that soon enough she'd be married to someone else, having children with someone else, and he'd spend the rest of his life loving her still. It was a morose thought and he'd promised himself that he'd find a way to move on and maybe, just maybe, someone out there would be merciful and he'd stop being in love with Carter.

"Relax, Jack. I was just kidding."

Jack glared at him.

Daniel slumped back in his chair. "I know. I'm was being an ass. Sorry."

They sat there silently at their table watching the FES guys play darts at the bar while they waited for their food. Jack decided to give Daniel a break and forgive him for his baiting. He knew that Daniel was only trying to get a reaction out of him. His friend didn't understand why Jack wasn't doing anything to stop Carter from making a mistake and just ask Carter to wait for him.

What Daniel didn't get was that Carter was entitled to have happiness in her life. She wanted a normal life and a family. Hell, he wanted those things too with her! But he knew he couldn't give her those things. Not soon enough for her liking.

"Easy on the beer, Spacemonkey. You've got a mission tomorrow."

Daniel grinned at his conciliatory tone. "It's too bad you can't come with. We might need your 'unique' abilities on this one. You think we'll find Jonas?"

Jack shrugged. "We'll get a better idea once we send a MALP through. It could be as simple as a broken DHD."

Daniel had to laugh at that. When did it happen? When did a broken DHD no longer spell 'disaster'?

* * *

><p>The next morning, SG-1 gated over to the address that Daniel had found from the images of the ruins on P3X-666. As per standard operating procedure, a MALP was sent ahead of the team and initial re-con revealed no signs of a DHD which might have explained why Jonas Quinn was not able to contact Earth or the Alpha site.<p>

Daniel suggested sending a UAV to check out the surroundings, hoping that Jonas - if he was indeed on the planet- would recognize the plane and realize that the SGC had found him. O'Neill okayed the plan and Sgt. Siler made the necessary preparations.

SG-1 followed a few minutes after the UAV and stepped out into another hot and sandy planet with not much to recommend it except for the vast ruins that spread below the gate, and that really only appealed to Daniel.

The gate was mounted on huge slabs of coppery stone overlooking an ancient city. It was hard to believe that life ever existed there, let alone a civilization. Crumbling, sand covered, stone steps led them down inside the ruined the city. Daniel was gawking, almost jumping with excitement at the treasure trove before him.

"Here," he told Teal'c, not even glancing at the big man, handing him his video camera. "Hold this and don't stop recording. This-this is... Wow. Amazing!"

He didn't see Sam smirk behind him.

"Perhaps we should focus on finding JonasQuinn," Teal'c suggested.

Daniel finally pulled away from his exploration and looked back at his team. "Sorry. Of course. Where do we start?"

"You two look for Jonas," Sam replied. "I'm gonna set up the generator. We might have to gate out of here fast."

He and Teal'c nodded and started down the path to the city. They would need to get a move on before darkness set in and make a search far more difficult.

Daniel wondered silently in what condition they would find Jonas. He didn't see any sources of water or food anywhere. Just crumbled buildings and desert. It was hard to think positively when the sun was beating mercilessly down on them and he was constantly reaching for his canteen to stave off heat exhaustion.

They had a good view of the Stargate even after half an hour of walking further into the city, and he could just make out Sam's form and the MALP. She would have radioed in already if the UAV had found anything. It was more likely, if Jonas was around, that he would be hiding out in one of the more intact buildings to avoid the heat.

"Jonas!"

"DanielJackson?"

"We're getting no where here, Teal'c. If Jonas is here, he'll be hiding from this heat."

Teal'c inclined his head in understanding. They both started yelling out Jonas' name, marching further into the city.

"Dr. Jackson? Teal'c?" Both Daniel and Teal'c turned towards a mostly buried building that might have been a temple once and saw a frail looking Jonas Quinn standing by a huge pillar.

The two of them ran quickly to their missing comrade, Jonas meeting them halfway.

"I thought I was imagining things," Jonas told them grinning ear to ear. "I thought maybe the heat had finally gotten to me and I'm starting to hear things! How did you find me?

Daniel laughed in relief. It seems nothing could dampen the younger man's enthusiasm. "The print outs from P3X-666. When you didn't get back to me, I started to worry and contacted Langara."

"Yes! I knew you would find the gate address and it was only a matter of time."

"Are you fairing alright, JonasQuinn?" Teal'c asked, clearly concerned.

"Oh, I'm more than fine, Teal'c. Just wait until you see what I've found!"

* * *

><p><strong>Oooh, the gang is back together! Hehe. Who else loves Jonas? I love bringing him back in all my stories. Pete though... Gagh! <strong>


	4. Bananas And White Lies

**Chapter 4: Bananas And White Lies**

Daniel couldn't believe his eyes. After radioing Sam and asking her to report the happy news back to the SGC, Jonas had led them into the buried building, into large, intricate hallways that were lit by some unknown power source.

When Jonas finally showed them what he'd been so excited about, he felt just about ready to burst.

At the end of the large hall, was a chair, a very familiar chair. "He-llo," he muttered to himself.

"Before you even ask, Dr. Jackson. 'Yes' there's definitely a working ZPM in there."

He walked over the Ancient chair and sat on it. Nothing happened. "How did you get the lights to work?"

Jonas shrugged. "I figured it was from something that Nirrti did that somehow lets this place detect my bio-signs and signals things to power up. The chair didn't work though."

"No. I think we'd need Jack for that." They definitely needed Jack around. His Ancient gene would show them just how much of the city's technology remained intact and if they could somehow salvage it. They desperately needed a functioning ZPM to defend Earth.

"You wouldn't believe this place! There's pools in the centre of the building. That's how I managed to survive. I think this city used to be near an ocean before this solar system's star became this hot. They couldn't use the sea water, so they built underground pools."

"Amazing."

"Oh yes! It's even got it's own greenhouse. I don't know if you saw it from the Stargate, but there's a huge dome that somehow maintained plant life and vegetation... It looks like a jungle."

He saw Jonas grin, reach into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a banana.

Teal'c raised his eyebrow. "Indeed."

"These grow everywhere."

* * *

><p>Sam watched the event horizon wink out and moved away from the MALP. General O'Neill was pleased that they found Jonas safe and was now prepping a science team to join SG-1 in checking out what was left of the Ancient ruins.<p>

She was itching to go down and check out the ZPM Jonas had found, but she had to wait for SG-3 to show up to cover the gate. They couldn't be too careful. Although, Anubis was gone, there was still Ba'al and they didn't know how much of Anubis's research into Ancient technology the system lord had access to. Anubis had sent a probe to '666 and he too might have found out about the gate address.

Until Reynolds and his team arrived, she was left to cool her heels by the gate, guarding the Naquadah generator.

She sighed, impatient to join her team inside the city. She'd had a sleepless night and the heat wasn't helping any. At least there was a breeze, albeit warm.

Her mind started to wander to her discussion with Pete last night. After seeing General O'Neill and the boys at the restaurant, she and Pete headed to Starbucks for some coffee. Her fiancé had asked some uncomfortable questions about the General and she'd had to lie to him.

It was becoming more and more easier to just lie to Pete instead of getting into another argument about her work. He never really pushed or got angry with her, but he always had that look of disappointment that she couldn't share a large part of herself with him.

She couldn't really tell him about the Asgard and how General O'Neill was now actually a clone because his body couldn't survive the Ancient download and subsequent stress of being frozen in Antarctica after having save the world from alien invasion.

No. She couldn't tell him that.

The only thing that made her lie believable was that Pete had never really met the General except for brief glimpses during the Osiris op. He'd been hurt at the time and couldn't really trust his recollection of the people involved.

So many lies just to cover for the fact that Jack looked a lot different than he used to.

_Jack._

She'd rarely called him that even in her mind. She'd completely stopped after what happened on the Prometheus and started dating Pete. She would never be able to call him that now. Whatever hopes she'd harbored about the two of them ending up together were no more. She'd decided to move on with Pete and had declared it for the world to see with his ring.

She sometimes wondered if she'd done the right thing. If Jack even thought of her in that way anymore. She'd tried to get him to say something, going so far as to ask for his advice about her answer to Pete's proposal. She'd given him the opportunity to change her mind, but he'd given her a vague answer about not being at the SGC if things had been different.

She supposed he was right. If things had been different and his son were still alive, he wouldn't have been on the first Abydos mission. He'd be with his family, still married to Sara. They would've never met and she wouldn't have fallen in love with him.

Maybe she was meant to be with Pete. She and Jack would always have something stacked against them. Being both at the SGC meant being in the same chain of command. If things had been different, he would still be married and probably still very much in love with his wife. Either way, they couldn't be together.

She'd comforted herself with the thought of just having his friendship and going out there fighting the war side by side. That was something they had together that no one could replace.

Then, he'd been frozen for months and just when she thought they had him back on the team, he got himself promoted to General. SG-1 as she knew it was no more.

From what she'd seen last night, he'd also moved on with his friendships. It used to be the four of them going out to dinner. After she started seeing Pete, it had become less frequent and eventually it just stopped.

It wasn't a surprise that he'd decided to get out there instead of staying home doing nothing. It was only a matter of time before he also moved on with his life. To what he moved on to she wasn't willing to contemplate just yet.

* * *

><p>Three days later, SG-1 was back home. Daniel and Jonas had to be dragged off the planet, both protesting loudly just how important their find was. The ZPM was going to be removed in three days time and both wanted to take advantage of the time to study as much of the ruins possible before the city was robbed of it's power source.<p>

O'Neill had a hard time convincing Daniel that once the ZPM was gone, the ruins would still be there and they had a spare Naquadah generator that they could rig up to provide lighting in the chambers. He'd also had to promise to let Daniel and Jonas return once they had recovered from heat exhaustion.

The planet was more than harsh, with the sun beating down 28 hours of the 32, with sand storms starting earlier and earlier each evening. He'd had to rotate the science teams, Dr. Brightman advising him that each team should have at least three days off to recuperate before returning to the planet.

Jonas wasn't allowed to return for another two weeks. He'd been a bit malnourished, having only eaten fruits and leaves. Jack had promised him a nice juicy steak to help him get back on his feet.

But first, he needed to deal with Washington. Once knowledge of an Ancient base had gone up through the channels, the NID had quickly come a knocking, wanting to lend their 'expertise'. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie and Jack was determined to keep the NID out of it.

He didn't trust the bastards one bit. He knew what they were capable of and part of taking the job as the SGC commander was looking out for the best interest of the facility from the enemies within. Although the NID were no longer controlled by the Committee, a part of him still distrusted the organization. He also now had the additional headache of making sure the Trust didn't get their hands on any of the tech and intel that would be coming into the SGC. He was a running a tight ship and only Carter, Daniel and Dr. Lee's team would have access to rocks and doohickeys they brought back.

General Hammond wanted to see him in DC once things quieted down to discuss his concerns with the President. Hammond warned him that there would be also a meeting with the NID, IOC and CIA. All the acronyms made his head hurt.

All the e-mails from Woolsey also made his head hurt. He hated bureaucrats with a passion, much more than he ever hated scientists in his early days with the SGC. The geeks always questioned his orders and then disobeyed them. He'd kinda mellowed on them after being constantly surrounded for more than eight years. Carter was a scientist, and he liked her.

He cleared his throat and started tapping furiously at his laptop keyboard to dislodge that particular avenue of thought. He wasn't going to think about her and just how much... Well he wasn't going to.

He quickly typed an appropriate and polite response to Richard Woolsey, telling him to f-off. Not exactly in those words, but he felt the sentiment had come through.

Just as his mind started to drift off to no-go territory once again, his e-mail program dinged, informing him that he'd gotten another piece of mail. He just hoped it wasn't Woolsey threatening to tell the Joint Chiefs.

He clicked on his dock and brought up the mail program. He sighed as he read the sender's name.

So much for keeping his mind off her.

It had been sent from her home account. She probably couldn't wait to get out of the mountain and back home to Pete. She'd only been back from the planet for about four hours and the old Carter never left her lab when she was expecting new technology to come in.

Then again, she wasn't going to be Carter any longer. He'd have to stop calling her that and revert to just 'Colonel' because he didn't think he could stomach calling her by her married name.

_Shit._

What the hell was wrong with him?

He had to get over this. He'd had his chance and he'd fucked it up. She'd given him the opportunity and he'd let it slip by. It had been the right thing to do. It wasn't his place to make that life altering decision for her and as much as he wanted to fight for her, he didn't have the right to.

She loved her career, loved the SGC and he couldn't take that away from her. He'd tried to quit at least once after being promoted, but he always got pulled back in and he knew that it would always be the case. As much as he wanted to be with her, his presence at the SGC was needed. They still had a fight to win and with his new found abilities, courtesy of the Asgard and the O'Neill gene pool, they had a better chance with him at the helm.

He read through her e-mail and couldn't suppress a laugh.

Carter really did have a sense of humor. A sick one at that.

Jack was torn. Should he say yes just to spare her feelings and endure a torturous day with her fiancé? Or say no and endure that disappointed and hurt look she would give him when he sees her next?

A real tough one that.

He decided to ask Daniel. Picking up the phone, he punched in the archaeologist's extension and waited as the phone rang. And rang.

He was probably too distracted looking at more rocks with Jonas to notice the ringing. Jack knew from experience to just give it a few more seconds.

_"Ah... Hello?"_

"It's me."

_"What is it,Jack? We're kinda busy here."_

"Take a break, for cryin' out loud! I need your advice on something."

Pause.

_"Hmm. With what exactly?"_

"How do you feel about painting?"

Click.

"Daniel? Hello? Daniel?"

* * *

><p><strong>Any guesses as to what Sam has asked Jack to do with Pete? Knowing how you guys feel about the cop, this should be entertaining =) I also apologize in advance for the next chapter...<strong>


	5. Posse Comitatus

**Warnings: Some swearing.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Posse Comitatus<strong>

In the end, Jack couldn't really refuse Carter's request without a really good explanation. He'd contemplated actually making a trip to some far off planet, maybe even visit the Tok'ra or perhaps Netu... But he was determined to get over Carter and the sooner the better. He was never one to runaway from a challenge and this was one was a doozy:

A whole freaking day with Carter's fiancé.

Well, if she'd managed to move on, had chosen someone else, there was no reason why he couldn't do the same. He'd made some positive steps towards that goal while in Washington. The thought elicited a smile.

The meeting with the President and the collective acronyms hadn't been a total bust. It had been good to see General Hammond wheeling and dealing with the top brass. The two of them had gone to dinner afterwards, catching up on old times and mutual friends.

At the hotel bar, they ran into one of the CIA agents from the meeting earlier that day and had invited her for a drink.

Jack hadn't planned any of it. He was just being friendly and invited a colleague out of politeness, but George had seen an opportunity. After one drink, the older General had informed them that he was off to his bed for an early meeting at the Pentagon and had left them to it.

Agent Johnson had given him a knowing look and a grin, seeing that Jack was uncomfortable with the situation.

_"So... This is awkward," she said after a minute of silence._

_"Listen-"_

_"No! Look this doesn't have to lead to anything. It's just a drink," she tried to tell him reassuringly._

_Jack knew he was being an ass. Here was a beautiful woman who might just be interested in him and what was he doing? Trying to push her away? For what? He was available and so was she. There were no rules or regulations preventing him from enjoying this woman's company and for once he should really just let go and enjoy himself._

_He looked at her properly and picked up his drink. "You're right. It doesn't have to lead to anything. Not tonight anyway. But I make a lot of trips to Washington."_

_She gave him a startled look, surprised at his suddenly charming demeanor and clear invitation._

_"I'd like that, Jack."_

"Jack? Jack?"

Jack pulled himself away from his reminiscing and focused on Daniel who was calling his name repeatedly.

"What?"

"We're here."

Jack looked out of the passenger side window, realizing that Daniel was right. They had arrived at Pete's bachelor's day out or whatever the hell they called it these days. When he'd gotten married to Sara, he and his friends had gone out the night before the wedding to get stinkin' drunk and he'd woken up in the middle of an airfield only wearing his shorts. His buddies had driven him to the church still hung over, but on time, and Sara hadn't known the difference. That was the extent of his celebration and he liked it that way.

He mentally prepared himself for the 'fun' day ahead and stepped out of the cab. The black Chevy Suburban was SGC issued and Teal'c's preferred mode of transport and Jack liked to indulge the big guy whenever he could. T no longer went out as much after the incident with Krista and her boyfriend, so when he did, Jack made sure his friend had a good time.

"Does this not remind you of our missions, O'Neill?" Teal'c pointed out, looking up at their surroundings.

"Yeah. Trees. Lots of them."

They followed Daniel and Jonas who were already at the reception area. It was a clearing at the end of a dirt path, consisting mainly of wooden shacks with corrugated metal roofs and hand painted signs which proclaimed 'Hot Food' and 'Register'.

"I guess Paul's a really classy guy," He muttered to Teal'c.

"I believe you mean 'Pete', O'Neill."

"Pete, Paul, whatever!"

He saw Daniel shaking hands with a stocky blond guy and recognized him as Carter's fiancé. He gave himself another mental deep breath and went over with Teal'c to join them.

"Wow!" He heard Pete exclaiming. "You guys are gonna be hard to hide in the woods." All four of them, including Jonas, stood taller than the cop.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be just fine," Jack told him smiling slightly. "In fact, I think you should put us all in the same team."

Paul frowned at him for a moment before shrugging and grinning back at him again. Goofy. Carter was marrying this goofy clown!

"There's actually twelve of us, so you can pick two of the groomsmen for your team."

Jack looked over Pete's shoulder and saw a teenage boy with glasses standing awkwardly to the side as Pete's friends laughed merrily over bottles of Stella. Bleah.

"I'll take him," He pointed to the boy, swimming in his camo overalls that was more than two sizes too big.

Pete looked behind him. "Adam? You want my nephew Adam in your team?"

"Yeah," Jack answered back. "You can keep the other guy."

Pete looked at him oddly again, but merely shrugged.

Shanahan introduced them to the rest of the group, offered them beer, which all four of them declined.

Jack never engaged in battle with alcohol in his blood.

Carter wanted them to get to know her man better. Jack was determined that Shanahan knew exactly who he was dealing with by the end of the day.

Once the teams were assigned, the two guys who were in charge of organizing the games gave them the health and safety speech.

Face masks were too be worn at all times unless everyone had their paint balling guns on the ground. Gloves with a hard plastic back were recommended as the paint balls travelled at more than two hundred miles per hour and could easily take exposed skin off. They weren't allowed to shoot at close range and instead should ask the person to surrender if in their sights. No aiming at the head at anytime.

Next they were told about the weapons available, including paint grenades and smoke screens. More ammo was available at extra cost.

Once the spiel was over, they suited and kitted up in the loose fitting camos provided. Teal'c struggled to fit in his and only just managed to squeeze himself in, much to Jack's amusement. The big guy looked dangerous in his dark skull cap and fitted overalls.

The first game was a simple capture the flag. The objective of each team was to capture the other team's flag mounted near the other team's underground silo and shove it in the silo's chimney. First to do so wins.

Each team had to be inside the underground silo at the start and once the whistle blew they had to quickly file out and engage the enemy.

Jack couldn't believe his luck. This was basic strategy. Something he'd taught raw cadets at the academy. He knew his team very well and had been in battle with them so many times in the past eight years that he didn't even have to discuss strategy with them. Adam looked lost, so Jack knew he'd have to give the kid the easy tasks.

"Can you run fast, kid?"

Adam gave him a small grin. "It's the only thing I _can_ do."

"Good," Jack said, patting him on the back. "You're gonna capture the flag for us."

Adam's eyes widened. "What? But-"

"Don't worry. We'll be covering your ass. Don't think. Just focus on the flag and once you see it, run towards it as fast as you can and head for their chimney."

The teenager nodded, clearly uncertain of Jack's plan, but not brave enough to actually question it. Jack smiled to himself, thinking the kid might make a good soldier with a little more backbone. He knew when to take orders and that's what Jack liked.

The air horn blew and Jack was the first one out of the bunker followed by Adam, Daniel, Jonas and Teal'c who was going to be guarding the flag and bunker.

Both Daniel and Jonas were off like a shot, circling towards the back of the enemy bunker to provide covering fire. Jack was the one in charge of the frontal assault, making sure that none of Paul's team made it into friendly territory. If they did, Teal'c would be taking care of them.

Shanahan's team weren't bad shots. Most of them were police officers and had practice at the range. But most of them had never used anything but a pistol, and the paint ball guns were far more similar in size and weight to a P90 than a hand gun.

Jack found it more than easy to take out each and everyone of them. Daniel and Jonas attacked from behind and the other team found it difficult to actually advance and took cover behind tree trunks. This gave Jack and his team the opening they needed. Jack pushed Adam forward and yelled for him to do his thing.

The boy sprung forward, sprinting without care towards the enemy flag. Pete saw him and took aim, but doing so forced him out of his cover and Daniel dispatched of him in three successive shots.

Jonas hurled a smoke grenade towards the opposing bunker where Adam would have to climb the metal rungs to put the flag in the chimney. It hid him enough that the guy guarding the bunker just kept shooting in his direction, but was then shot promptly in the head by Jack. He went down on the ground clutching at his head mask.

The game was over in five minutes.

The next five games went the same way, with SG-1 not making the game very interesting. Pete's team were covered in yellow paint by the end of it, all groaning and swearing about their bruised bodies.

"Fuck, Pete. Where the hell did you dig up these guys? You said they were scientists at the Air Force, not fucking special ops!"

Pete merely shook his head. O'Neill and his friends had completely humiliated him. He should've known the guy was up to something when he suggested keeping his team together. The way they fought spoke of battle hardened professionals and Pete couldn't help but think this had all been just a form of amusement for them, not really much of a challenge.

Sam would've known this, and yet she hadn't said anything.

* * *

><p>Sam hung up the phone, feeling a headache coming on.<p>

Pete had given her the low down on what happened at his guys day out and he wasn't happy. He'd been cold and abrupt with her, implying that it was her fault he had lost to her friends.

Her fiancé had conveniently forgotten that it was him who had suggested that it would be good for his and her friends to get to know each other and since _all_ of her friends were men, why not paintballing?

She knew what the outcome would be, but once Pete got something in his head, he got so swept up in it that there was no dissuading him. Now he was sulking and it was somehow her fault.

She'd only realized how much this side of him irritated her. He was such a nice guy most of the time, kind and funny. If at times he tended to want his way, she'd tried to be understanding knowing that part of being in a relationship was about compromise. She also just realized that most of the compromising was on her part.

Why was she feeling like this? Ever since she'd said yes to Pete her life felt more and more out of control. All the things she'd taken for granted, her independence, her friendship with SG-1, were all disappearing. Pete constantly called, wanting to know where she was despite her reminders that most of what she did was classified. It was sort of understandable that he wanted to be part of her life, but it was difficult trying to have a normal life when most of her life couldn't be classified as normal. She wasn't used to reporting her whereabouts to someone who wasn't her superior.

As for SG-1 they were now doing their own thing. Teal'c spent more and more time off world visiting the Jaffa ever since his failed attempt at living amongst the humans. Daniel was his usual self, but he was often seen in the General's company, the two of them going out together during their free time, something he and O'Neill didn't used to do back when they were in SG-1 together. Whilst she was still close to Daniel, he'd made it pretty clear that he wasn't that happy with her engagement. Not once did Daniel express any desire to meet her fiancé or inquire about her upcoming wedding.

Then there was the General.

Ever since his promotion she'd felt the distance between them widening. If she were honest with herself it had started in that elevator ride after she'd told him about Pete.

He seemed happy enough for her, but there was always an undercurrent between them, like he was afraid to let his guard down. He no longer made trips to her lab or ask her to have cake with him.

Yeah, the difference in their rank might explain his sudden distance, but she'd always thought that their friendship went beyond such a thing. They would always be subordinate and superior, but he was a friend first. It had hurt her a lot when he'd accepted his promotion and she'd found out from someone else. Daniel had let it slip later that he and O'Neill had spoken about it and both had agreed it was the best thing to do. She'd later approached Teal'c and it turned out he was the first one that O'Neill had told.

Why he was pulling away from her like this, she couldn't understand. Jack O'Neill could be a real pain sometimes, but he wasn't deliberately cruel to her. Her hallucination back on the Prometheus had said that he would always be there for her, but that's all it had been, her own mind trying to comfort her into thinking that he'd be happy with any decision she made.

Now that the decision had been made, she wasn't happy and it seemed neither was the General.

Sam felt the bile rise in her throat. _Oh, god, how could I have let it go this far?_

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><p><strong>Clueless much, Sam? How do you feel about Carter in this fic? When I wrote it, I was really angry with her and I wonder if that shows. I honestly think that Jack had no other recourse in the series BUT to accept her decision and allow her to move on. Retirement wasn't ever an option when he was constantly being burdened with the fate of the world, and an unfinished war. What do you think? <strong>


	6. Charlie And The Glass AU Mirror

**I want to apologize to my Plausible Deniability readers. I'm currently still plotting out the rest of the story, and completing the next chapter. I haven't abandoned that story, I assure you. **

**I have my in-laws over for a month from Europe, and I'm not getting much done in terms of writing. It's kinda rude to skip out on them for hours on end to write fic. Once they go back, _I'll _be back =)**

**As always, THANK YOU, to all who've reviewed/favourited this story. I loved hearing your views on the whole Sam/Pete debacle. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Charlie And The Glass AU Mirror**

Charlie Kawalsky couldn't believe he was doing this again five years later. Why Samantha had to ask this of him and Janet, he'd only speculated through the years, never asking Sam straight out about what he suspected.

When he'd agreed to be the executor of Samantha's will, he would have never guessed that she would ask them such an extraordinary thing to be done in the event of her death.

The three of them were best friends. Charlie had taken it upon himself to be Samantha's rock after Jack's death and had promised to be there for her as long as she needed him. Even when he'd married Janet, the doc had taken it upon herself to make sure Sam didn't feel like Charlie couldn't be there for her any longer.

Sam and Janet had become best friends after that.

"Are you sure this is what she wanted?"

He glanced over at his wife, uncertainty marring her usually smiling face. "I don't know, Jan, but we don't have many choices left. I kinda suspected something went on with him and her back at the SGC. But it wasn't something I could just ask her about."

Janet understood. Samantha always held something back. Charlie told her earlier on that the Sam they knew wasn't the same woman he'd first met back when Jack was still alive. His death had changed her profoundly. She never let anyone in and the only time she was ever happy was when- Well, it now explained things.

"It just doesn't feel right, Charlie. Didn't you say that the SGC would destroy their mirror after you and Sam went through?"

"Well they didn't."

Janet gave him a questioning look. "Sam checked. She checked a year later if they had actually destroyed it like they said, but they didn't. Sam said it was still somewhere in the SGC."

His wife sighed not wanting to do this at all. It was damned near insane, but they couldn't refuse Sam's request. This was what she wanted and made them both swear that they would do it.

He and Janet agreed that he would go back. Her alternate self was still alive there and he didn't want her suffering from that entropic cascade thing. He just hoped that Sam was right and that they hadn't moved the mirror elsewhere. Otherwise he would have a lot more explaining to do.

The first thing that Charlie did after stepping through the mirror was to make contact with an SF and order him to take him to Colonel O'Neill or General Hammond.

The SF had quickly called for backup and he was quickly escorted to the briefing room under armed guard.

The place hadn't changed that much in the past five years, well, maybe except for the fact that Jack was now a Brigadier General!

It took his friend long enough. Charlie had always known his best friend was destined to go far. If it weren't for his aversion to paperwork and his very acerbic tongue, Jack would have made General a lot sooner.

"_Kawalsky?_"

"Hey, buddy! Just dropped by to congratulate you on your promotion. It's been what? Five years?"

Jack sent him an incredulous look. "Well, _thanks_," Jack replied forcefully.

"See, the reason I didn't drop by any sooner was that I was under the impression that you destroyed the mirror. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it don't look destroyed to me."

"We were going to. But someone higher up decided it would be stupid to get rid of something so valuable in case we need to use it someday."

Charlie shrugged, now grinning. "We thought the same."

Both men just stared at each other. Charlie was the first one to break the silence. "You look good, Jack. In fact, you look a lot younger than last time I saw you."

His friend grimaced. He pointed up to the ceiling. "Asgard."

"Oh?"

"I died," then Jack quickly added, "Then cloned."

"Whoah!" Charlie looked at him with amazement.

"You look good too. A bit older," Jack said smirking.

"What can I say, married life agrees with me."

"Yeah? Who was stupid enough to fall for your sad pick up lines?"

"The SGA's very own resident doc. Janet says 'hi'."

He saw a sad look pass over Jack. His demeanor suddenly changed from playful to serious.

"How's Sam?"

Just like Jack to go straight to the point.

"She passed away a few weeks ago."

A flicker of distress crossed Jack's features before he was able to stop himself from reacting. His friend was never good with emotions and that seemed true too in this particular universe.

"How?" Jack asked after a minute. He'd had to swallow back the torrent of emotions Charlie's news had brought.

"Lymphoma."

He saw Jack worrying his lip. "Jacob had it too, but he survived. He's a Tok'ra now."

"We never really got chummy with those guys. Sam didn't trust them."

Jack laughed at that. "Damned ironic. They could've saved her." Jack shook his head as if to clear it. "Is that why you're here? To tell me she's gone."

"Partly. She asked me and Janet to do something for her before she died."

Now that he was here, face to face with Jack, Charlie didn't know what to say. How did you tell someone that he was a father?

"Charlie..."

He had to get this over with. "She got pregnant, Jack."

Charlie saw understanding dawn on Jack's face. It confirmed what they all knew, but never really said. Everyone had just assumed that Samantha was already pregnant during the attack, her husband leaving her a very lasting memory of him.

He watched as Jack pulled out a chair and sat on it.

"It's funny," Jack said after a moment. "In the back of my mind I kept thinking that that's what she wanted. That as much as she needed to make love to her husband one last time, she was hoping for something else."

Charlie nodded. "The only thing that made her smile was that kid. She fought hard. She didn't want to leave her baby, but in the end she realized it was a losing battle and made sure Gracie at least had her dad."

"Gracie." Jack tried out his daughter's name.

"Grace Charlotte O'Neill," Charlie smiled ruefully. "The Charlotte part was apparently after me. I don't what the heck Sam was thinking..."

"You were there for her," Jack reminded him. "You were her friend when I should've been..." He couldn't continue.

"Hey! You can't blame yourself for this, understand?" He didn't want his friend crucifying himself with guilt for something he hadn't known about. "There was no way you could have known. You gotta focus on the now, what you can do for Gracie."

"Does she know about me?"

"A little. I think Sam showed her pictures of her Jack. I got the feeling she told Gracie some of the truth... what she can understand, anyway."

"Thats uh- That's good."

Charlie sighed seeing the turmoil this was causing Jack. This could royally screw things up for him, it would be difficult enough explaining where Grace came from, but that she was Jack's daughter?

"Look, Jack. I know this is gonna cause problems, Jan and I would be happy to keep Grace, but Sam wanted you to know and given the option. I had to do this."

"That's decent of you, Charlie."

"Wasn't up to me."

Jack gave him a questioning look.

Charlie pulled out a chair and sat down.

"After she died, her brother hired a lawyer and filed for Gracie's custody. I know damned well that's the last thing Sam wanted. She wanted Gracie with her real family. Either with us or with her father," Charlie said adamantly.

"Sam left a will, didn't she?"

"She did, but her brother is claiming that Jan and I are unsuitable guardians because of our work with the SGA. He's some hot shot politician with the post-interim government and he's got enough clout, Jack. I don't know what to do. Me and Jan figured that either way, we'll have to disappear-"

"I want her."

"Are you sure?"

"She's mine, Charlie. Grace belongs with me."

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><p><strong>I hope this chapter doesn't feel like it came out of left field. Some of you had already guessed this was coming from chapter one. Who else thought whilst watching 'POV' that here should've been 'more' between Samantha and our Jack? Or heck, more of a convo between CarterSamantha? The whole time, I was like, "Come on! Give us more!" I totally wanted a Carter/O'Neill convo. **


	7. The Fairest Of Them All

**Chapter 7: The Fairest of them All**

He walked Charlie back to the mirror himself, agreeing to meet the other man in two hours time along with Grace.

He had very little time to contact General Hammond and explain to him the situation and what he wanted to do. That was the easy part.

The hard part was having to tell SG-1.

After his hour long phone call with Hammond in which the older general was far more sympathetic than Jack had anticipated and had given him the clearance to have Grace remain in their universe, he sought out Daniel.

He needed the archaeologist's advice on how to proceed, or rather, how to tell Carter. Danny was Sam's best friend and would know what to do.

"So, let me get this straight: You and their Sam...?"

"Yeah."

"And she got-"

"Yes, again."

"I see. Thats..."

"Bizarre? Breaks so many cosmic laws? What?"

"I was gonna say 'wow' but those fit too."

Daniel was still holding a piece of artifact from the Ancient ruins on P8Z-422. He was gesticulating with it which to Jack said much more than what he was actually saying. He'd just revealed some life changing, career destroying news and Daniel looked to be taking it very well, but he knew his friend and Daniel was as terrified as he was. This would change everything.

"What are you gonna do?"

What was he gonna do? He was going to get Grace and get her settled into his house as soon as possible. But he knew Daniel was asking much more than that.

What about childcare? How did one explain to everyone about the sudden appearance of a little girl that just happened to be his? What would he tell Carter?

"I'll figure it out."

"We."

"What?"

Daniel finally put down the slab of rock he was holding. "_We_ will figure it out."

"Look, Daniel-"

"We'll all help."

"You can't get Carter mix up in this. She's got a life now."

Daniel took off his glasses and begun to clean it. Standard delaying tactic when he was about deliver something Jack didn't want to hear. "Jack, don't you think she would want to be part of this. She is, technically-"

"No!" Jack shook his head and turned away from Daniel. "She's not Grace's... Grace's mother died. Samantha was her mother."

"I'm not saying that Sam could replace her-"

"I said no, Daniel. That little girl is going to know her real mother. I'm not gonna have her split between Carter and me, shuttling from one family to another. I'm definitely not gonna have her think of Pete as her stepfather."

"Is that why you don't want Sam to be part of this? Because you resent her for being with Pete?"

"Dammit, Daniel! You just don't get it. This has _nothing_ to do with Carter. Nothing. This was between me and Samantha. We made that kid together. Carter had nothing to do with it. They are nothing alike. Samantha was married to another Jack O'Neill, Carter doesn't even see me that way."

"Oh, _puhl_eese!" Daniel replied. "I can't believe you actually think that. We all know just how much she does see you that way."

"She's engaged to someone else, Daniel. That says plenty to me."

"Only because she thinks there's never gonna be anything between you two. If you just tell her how you feel-"

"It's too late, Daniel. She's happy with him. She's made her choice and I won't interfere with that. Grace doesn't change anything between me and Carter."

"What are you going to tell her then? What if she wants to be part of Grace's life?"

"I'll tell her the truth. I'll tell her that I don't want Grace to get even more confused about things."

Daniel thought about the little girl who was now caught up in the mess that Sam and Jack created. Grace had just lost her mother and now she was being forced to leave her very reality to live with a father she's only ever heard about, then deal with the alternate of her dead mother who was about to marry another man.

'Confused' was the least of the problems facing Grace.

Daniel joined Jack to meet Kawalsky and Grace at the mirror. They hadn't had much time after their little discussion to inform the rest of SG-1 and Jack decided to tell the rest of the team once he got Grace settled with Daniel at his house.

Grace would have to be checked at the infirmary first before being allowed off base. The two men had agreed that it would be wise to get the girl out of the mountain and quickly into something resembling 'normal'.

Daniel would stay with Grace whilst Jack returned to the mountain to tell SG-1 the news.

Carter, Jonas and Teal'c were still off world at the Ancient site and were expected to return the next day, but Jack was planning on recalling them briefly to tell them about his daughter.

Jack was understandably feeling apprehensive about meeting his little girl for the first time. This was a second chance for him at fatherhood and he was determined to not screw it up this time around.

He'd made so many mistakes with Charlie and he owed it to his late son and now his daughter to make things right.

The Quantum Mirror activated and they were able to see Kawalsky, Janet and a smaller figure whom they assumed was Grace.

The little girl was clutching Janet's side looking a little awed and scared by the whole thing. Jack grinned briefly at Janet who acknowledged him back with a smile before turning his gaze back to his little girl.

She was slightly tall for her age, long wavy blonde hair and the most startling blue eyes that Jack had ever seen. She was pure Sam and he couldn't help but fall in love with his daughter. There were only hints of himself on her, her slightly darker skin than Sam's, the curve of her lips.

Charlie touched the mirror forcing Jack to turn his attention from Grace. All three of them suddenly appeared on their side of the mirror.

"Dr. Jackson, it's nice to see you again." Charlie shook Daniel's hand, the two men exchanging brief pleasantries.

"Hey, Doc. How's it going?" Jack rocked back and forth on his heels his hands stuffed into his pockets. He glanced nervously down at Grace who was sneaking peeks at him.

Janet smiled and knelt down to the same level as her charge. "Gracie. I want you to meet General Jack O'Neill. Do you recognize him from the pictures your mommy used to show you?"

Grace nodded in the affirmative but didn't say anything.

Jack knelt down as well and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Gracie."

Grace shuffled her feet before finally looking shyly up at him. "Nice to meet you too, Daddy."

Jack felt a lump in his throat. He'd missed so much. This little girl had known him as her father all this time and he'd had no idea that she even existed. It was no ones fault, he couldn't even pin this one on himself, but he couldn't help but feel that he'd lost out on so many things.

He grasped her small hands in his and brought it up to his lips. She giggled a little at his actions and he couldn't help but grin back at her. He looked back up at Janet who looked about to cry.

He let go of Grace's hand and let her have a few moments with Janet.

The doc was speaking quietly to Grace and he assumed the two were saying goodbye. He saw his daughter nodding at whatever Janet was telling her and he couldn't help but feel bad that he was taking Grace away from the only family that she'd ever known.

She'd lost so much already and he was sure it wasn't right that she lose Janet and Charlie as well.

"Jack," Charlie interrupted his thoughts. "Jan and I can't stay long. We've brought as much of Gracie's stuff, but there's quite a few things you'll need to get. I've given Daniel a list..."

Janet came up to him and grasped his arm as if reading the doubts passing through his mind. "You'll do fine, Jack. I've put her medical file in her back pack. Just give it to your Frasier and they'll take care of everything. There's nothing to be worried about. She's perfectly healthy. She's a strong little girl, Jack, she'll get used to living with you pretty quickly."

"I know she will. Especially with the two of you helping out."

Charlie shot him a confused look.

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and stared intently at his boots. "I may have asked Hammond for a huge, honkin' favor that I will certainly be repaying for the rest of my life..."

Janet looked at her husband then at Jack. "What?"

"Jack-" Charlie started, shaking his head.

"You're the only family Grace has ever known. She's lost so much already. I couldn't let the only two people left in from her previous life disappear into an unknown fate."

Janet forced him to look down at her and meet her gaze. "But what about Entropic Cascade Failure? According to Sam I'll start to suffer from it in a matter of days."

Jack gave her a sad look.

"You mean?"

He gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"How?" Charlie asked, feeling the loss despite having his Janet right there.

"Off world. She was a hit by a staff weapon treating one of our wounded."

Janet didn't know what to say.

"You saved that Airman's life, Doc. You have a chance to continue saving more of them."

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><p><strong>First of all, I want to apologize to you guys for the lull between chapters. For this story and Plausible Deniability. <strong>

**I'm kinda stuck with a plot idea for PD, which my beta and I are currently hashing out the details. As for this fic, it's partially written, but will probably take a back seat once PD gets going again. **

**I hope you guys like Russia! ;-) And who else is loving Supportive!Daniel ? I sooo love the unlikely friendship between him and Jack. **

**errin: **I think you'll find that Jack isn't in the mood to explain much to Sam. He's basically separated the two Sams in his mind (Denial anyone?!), and isn't willing to share this part of his life with her. After all, she is engaged!

**Kahuna: **Man, I'm way to predictable. I guess we all know what we want to see in a story, and I'm basically writing that. Hmm. Maybe I should mix things up to make it more interesting? A pregnant Sam, perhaps? *veg*

**PatriciaS: **Sam's about to have a real rough time. Bad decisions, especially personal ones, have a nasty way of biting one in the butt.

**RobinBishop1231: **You've come to right place! I love me a babyfic.


	8. Graceful Entrance

**Thank you guys for being so patient and understanding with the slow updates *ahem*. Specially to the folks below who took the time to tell me their thoughts and ideas... **

_fnfnztri: Teal'c is around, but is not a significant character in this fic, unfortunately. But it's only partially written, so that may change!_

_PatriciaS: I definitely hope I can juggle both stories too. My priority at the moment is to finish PD. I kinda like the Sam in that story better than this 'Season 7/8 Canon!Sam' I think it shows? LOL_

_Tigerlillyth: I'm not brave enough to kill the Doc. Which begs the question, WHY DID TPTB DO IT?!_

_Kahuna: As always, you've read my mind. Maybe you should take up writing? Maybe you already have! ;-)_

_Guest: Thanks for all your ideas. I never thought of a BB game. That might get interesting. As for Sam's reaction, well you'll just have to wait and see… hehe._

_Cyced: I love Daniel. I love his friendship with Jack. I really think their connection is even deeper than that between S/J. A brother from another mother… He's the only one who could get away with what he does with Jack. Sam's definitely gonna be in Angst mode for foreseeable future *veg*_

_erinn80: Jack is gonna be a rock for his little Girl. He won't make the same mistakes from the past. Perhaps different mistakes, but not the same ones. Unfortunately, Pete is in the picture, and Sam hurt Jack very deeply. That's not something he'll easily forgive or forget. Yes, Cassie will have to be told!_

_vcm: Sam has no leg to stand on. It's not her kid as far as Jack is concerned._

_dpdp: Here you go!_

**I deeply apologize in advance for the following shmaltze and somewhat short chapter. There will be more angst coming, I promise! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Graceful Entrance<strong>

Their first visit was to the infirmary to get Grace checked out. While waiting for Dr Brightman, Jack went through Grace's medical records with Janet.

As the Doc had said, there wasn't much to be concerned about.

Daniel went through the list of things they needed to get for Grace and Jack decided not to recall SG-1. It didn't really matter when he told the rest of the team, but the comfort of his daughter mattered quite a lot.

His house wasn't exactly suited for a child and Jack needed to make big changes in his life style in just a few hours. With Daniel's help, they needed to do the groceries to get more than just beer in his fridge.

Janet listed a few things that Grace liked and he couldn't thank the woman enough for her thoughtfulness.

Aside from clothing and a few books and toys, Grace had nothing else. Jack was determined to make her as comfortable and at home as possible, that meant he needed to sort out her room fast.

Again, Janet listed the things that Grace had in her room and what Samantha had allowed her to play with. Jack chuckled at the list, seeing a computer on the list of things. She was definitely her mother's daughter.

Dr Brightman did some tests and had to draw some blood. Grace had made a scrunched up face when the needle had pierced her skin, but hadn't cried. She then silently whispered to Jack, "I'm gonna be a doctor like Auntie Janet when I'm a big girl."

All the adults laughed quietly at the very serious expression that only a four year old could muster.

They were told that the results should come through in a couple of hours, so Daniel decided that they probably should get something to eat at the commissary and discuss what to do next.

Jack had a fairly good idea what he wanted to do and that involved heading over to his house and converting his spare bedroom into Grace's room. Then a massive shopping trip that would make any girl envious. He had four years to make up for after all.

Charlie and Janet had to stay on the base until they could sort out a cover story as to why the two of them were back from the dead. Cassie would need to be told.

They had some sandwiches and Jack discovered that Grace was quite partial to chocolate cake. He'd managed to get a few more giggles from her as he pretended to steal some of her desert.

Once lunch was done, The Kawalskys retired to the guest quarters and the three of them headed over to Daniel's office. Like her father, Grace touched everything, but Uncle Daniel was so charmed by her that he didn't even flinch when she dropped one of his rocks.

Jack left them briefly to tell Walter that he was going to be taking a few days off and to recall Colonel Reynolds from Petersen who was doing some lectures on the X-302s.

Once Brightman gave them the all clear Daniel closed off his office and took Grace to find Jack.

They found him in the control room typing something into one of the dialing computers.

"Doc says we can take Grace home, Jack." He frowned at the General's rapid typing. "Whatcha doing?"

"Just checking an error in the dialing code's diagnostic program. It's all good. Let's go."

The three of them managed to haul all off Grace's stuff into Jack's truck and first stop before heading home was to do some groceries. Grace had quite an appetite according to Janet and Daniel surmised that she would be hungry again by the time they got to Jack's house.

"So, Gracie, what sort of stuff do you like to eat?" Daniel asked from the passenger side of truck.

Grace was sitting on the middle of the bench seat of Jack's truck where they were surprised to learn, had a pull down booster seat. Daniel glanced down beside him and saw her thinking hard about it before raising her right hand.

He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. "Um... Grace?"

With his permission to speak, the little girl started listing off her preferred foods. "Hot dogs with lotsa ketchup. S'ghetti with meatballs. Lettuce with salad sauce. Pizza!"

Daniel saw Jack's face break into a grin. Gracie definitely had the O'Neill appetite.

They got all of the things that were on Janet's list of 'essentials' and most of the things that Grace liked to eat. Jack decided he needed a bigger fridge and put it on his mental list of things to order.

Furniture and appliances shopping wasn't his favorite thing to do, so he figured it could wait a few days. The only things they really needed quickly were things for Gracie's room and some more toys.

By the middle of the next day, most of the shyness had gone from Grace and she was bossing around her father and honorary uncle to no end. They'd gone shopping again that morning, this time at the mall, and Grace had been thoroughly spoilt.

Daniel was dragging around a large bag with a video game console that Jack had insisted they buy for Gracie. Daniel had been doubtful, so he'd scrutinized the specs in store, and found that it was suitable from three years old and up, as evidence when he'd tried the game in the store with Gracie, and the girl had beaten him at a racing game.

"Come on, Danny. We're off to the fruit store!"

Daniel gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

Jack shook his head. "Never mind. You'll see what I mean."

Grace giggled at her father's joke. "Daddy! It's not a fruity store, it's a 'puter store!"

"I stand corrected, Princess Grace."

Daniel also insisted on adding to the books that Grace brought from her old home, and promised to read them to her whenever he was around to put her to bed.

The moment they got home, Grace was in a state of frenzy and wanted to play with her toys all at once. Jack realizing that he had to be a parent, decided that he had to set some boundaries early on.

"Sorry Gracie C, but we gotta make some lunch. How about you pick one toy that you really want to play with and open that one up first. Then you help your old man with the sandwiches."

Jack was expecting some protests, but was surprised when Gracie just said, "Okie dokie, Daddy."

She picked up a box with a doll inside labeled 'Ariel' and followed him into the kitchen.

"Hey, Jack."

"What's up, Daniel?"

Daniel had been on his cell phone and Jack figured he was probably talking to someone at the base.

"I asked Nyan to call me when SG-1 came through. I assumed you asked Walter the same thing?"

"Nope," Jack replied. He was stacking up the bread that Gracie was busy buttering for their sandwiches. "I told Walter not to call unless it was an absolute emergency. I'm on vacation for a few days. Reynolds is in charge."

Daniel leaned back on the kitchen counter and crossed his arms in front of him. "You have to tell her personally, Jack. She's not gonna take it well if she hears about it from anyone else."

"Daniel, I doubt she's going to take this well no matter how she finds out." Jack was careful not to say anything around Grace. Charlie and Janet had tried to explain as much as possible about alternate universes, but despite Grace being more than intelligent, she was still four years old and the concept of another woman who was in every way like her mother not really being her mother would confuse anyone.

Jack was determined to take things slow and introduce Carter once Grace was a lot more settled in her new environment. He needed time to explain how things were in their world, and which things were different and which were the same.

He definitely wasn't looking forward to explaining Carter's imminent marriage to the cop. He couldn't really understand it himself. He figured he might get Carter to explain that one.

"Then what do you want to tell them in the mean time? It's not gonna take long for the news to spread. Walter's not exactly discreet."

Jack shrugged. "You tell them."

Daniel looked incredulous. "Excuse me? _I'm _going to tell them?"

"Yep. You've led briefings before. I'm sure everyone can understand why I can't be there at the moment. Reynolds already knows, so he's one less person you have to explain things to."

"_Jack!_ This really should be coming from you."

"Sorry, Daniel. They either have to wait for me to come back to work or you tell them today at the debrief. Me and Gracie C here have a picnic planned outside."

Grace smiled at the prospect of an impromptu picnic. She and her mom used to have picnics when she wasn't busy at her lab. "Can my dollies come to the picnic too?"

"You can invite as many dolls as you like, baby. Why don't you grab the folded red checkered tablecloth on the dining table and lay it out on the table out back."

Gracie hopped down the stool she was standing on and ran out into the dining room.

With Grace out of the kitchen, Jack put down the knife he was using to cut the finished sandwiches into small triangles and faced Daniel.

"Gracie is my main concern right now. This is not the first time weird shit like this has happened. Carter will just have to deal until I can talk to her. Just remind her that Gracie has just lost her mother and that things are a bit confusing for her right now. I need time to explain some very complicated things to a four year old in a way that she'll understand."

Daniel had to concede that Jack was entirely right. He didn't know what Charlie and Janet or even Samantha had explained to the little girl, but it couldn't have been easy. Grace seemed to be accepting Jack as her father - something Daniel attributed to her age - kids that young tended to adapt to new things better than their older counterparts.

Sam on the other hand was a different kettle of fish. Grace would see the face of her dead mother and they had no idea what it would do to her. Jack couldn't risk traumatizing the little girl and with Sam getting married, Jack also couldn't risk getting Grace attached to Sam; For Grace to see her as her mother then be brutally pulled away as Sam started a new life without them...

There were so many complications. So many ways for Grace to get hurt. Jack had realized this early on and was making sure that it didn't happen. The man was an amazing father and Daniel couldn't help but feel heartbreak for his best friend for all the pain Jack had gone through in the past, as well as the present.

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><p><strong>If you feel like it, please feel free to review =) <strong>


	9. Reading Ancient

**I just wanted to say how blown away I was by the reviews last chapter. Hence the quick update ;-)**

**To my usual reviewers: You know who you are. You guys keep me writing. Whenever I can't be bothered to write, you're the reminder that there's people out there wanting me to finish this. I love hearing from each and everyone of you. **

**I also wanted to acknowledge Pat and Kathryn for sending me such insightful messages about last chapter. You both gave me quite a lot to think about. **

**Ah, the big reveal! Let's see how Sam copes, shall we?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Reading Ancient<strong>

Daniel paced nervously in the briefing room as he watched his team mates file in one by one. They all took their seats and it was clear from their expressions that they'd sensed something big was going on, and Jack's absence was another indicator.

He glanced at Sam who was last to come in and saw that she instantly knew that Jack wasn't around. He'd known her long enough that he was able to see the brief look of worry that passed through her before she was able to reign in her emotions. Sam may be able to fool everyone including herself, but Daniel knew where her heart belonged.

"Where's General O'Neill?" Sam finally asked as they all took their seats.

"He's taken a short leave of absence. Colonel Reynolds is in charge until he gets back."

"Then shouldn't the Colonel be here debriefing us?" Sam knew he was being evasive and Daniel realized he couldn't stall for long.

"He is- I mean, he will be. But first, I need to debrief you guys about a totally different matter. Jack would've done it himself, but it's the reason why he's not here in the first place. Both he and Colonel Reynolds felt that it would be better if I you guys heard it from me."

Sam was becoming impatient. "Just spit out, Daniel. Whatever it is."

Daniel looked to Teal'c and Jonas. They both looked eager to know what was going on. Well, Jonas looked eager, Teal'c just looked impassive as always.

"Look, there's no easy way to say this so I'll just, well, say it..."

Daniel proceeded to tell them Kawalsky's sudden appearance and the sad news he'd brought with him. He told them what he figured transpired between Samantha and Jack and that the result was Grace.

At the mention of the little girl's name, Sam visibly blanched. Whether from shock, disbelief, or both, Daniel could only speculate.

He went on to Samantha's last request, her need for her Grace to be with her father and finally Jack getting permission from Hammond and Hayes to keep Kawalsky, Frasier and the little girl in their reality. He also told them about Jack's request that he get Grace settled in before meeting everyone. He'd looked at Sam then to see her reaction, but she wasn't looking at anything, just staring out onto the observation window that looked down at the Gateroom.

"O'Neill must only ask and we will be there to help him with Grace O'Neill."

Daniel smiled at the Jaffa. Teal'c always knew the right thing to say. He never intruded and he never presumed.

Jonas nodded as well. "Definitely. The General only has to say when and we'll be there."

Teal'c rose to his feet. He sensed that Daniel needed to talk to Colonel Carter alone. "Come, JonasQuinn. I am in need of some nourishment."

Jonas quickly got to his feet and started gathering the folder he'd brought with him. "Yes. A snack sounds really good right now." He gave Daniel a meaningful look. _We'll leave you alone now._

"How are you doing, Sam?"

She continued to stare out at the Stargate.

"I can't even imagine what you're thinking right now-"

"You have no idea, Daniel." She paused. "Her name is Grace?"

She saw his reflection nod.

"Oh, god."

Daniel came up to her and squeezed her shoulder. "Sam, what's going on?"

She shook her head, her whole body trembling. She wasn't crying. Yet. Daniel was sure though, that it wouldn't take much for her to start.

"I think maybe I've made a big mistake."

"Sam..."

"Oh, god, Daniel. How could I have gotten it so wrong? I mean it could just be a coincidence, but somehow, the way the universe works, I don't think so."

"You're rambling, Sam. Slow down and tell me how you've made a big mistake."

She sniffed and shook her head. "Where do I start? It's all so confusing. I don't really know how to feel... General O'Neill slept with my alternate, impregnated her and now she's dead. I mean, it's not the first time that I've been confronted with something so bizarre, but-"

"But you've never been confronted with the reality of Jack's feelings being so blatantly displayed for everyone to see."

Sam laughed, but there was no humor in it. "That's just the thing, this isn't the first time for that either. This time though, we can't just sweep it under the rug or lock it up in that room. Not when there's walking evidence of what we- _she - _had with him."

"I don't want to sound callous, but this really isn't about you, Sam. Grace is the result of something that Jack allowed to happen because he felt he needed to help a woman who was married to him in another reality. This was about Samantha wanting a piece of her husband back and taking it from the next best thing."

"At some level, I know that. But I can't help but feel that Grace is a part of me. I may not have conceived her, but that little girl is mine just as much as she was Samantha's."

Daniel gave a rueful smile. "I kinda figured you'd feel that way."

Sam laughed again. "Hell, I still can't figure it out. I haven't even met her." Her expression sobered. "The General doesn't want me to see her."

Daniel knew he had to be careful how he said things or Sam would be incredibly hurt. "Not yet, no. He hasn't really explained things to Grace yet. She doesn't know that you exist and he's afraid that it would confuse her even more if she saw you."

Sam nodded in understanding. She knew what it was like to lose a mother and her heart ached for the little girl. Sam wished she could wave a magic wand and make all the pain disappear. If she could replace Samantha...

No.

She couldn't ever replace Grace's real mother. It wasn't right. Samantha deserved to be remembered by her only child. Jack would make sure of that.

"Look, Sam. It's not going to be for long. Jack will get Grace to understand eventually. He just wants to make sure that Grace knows that things in our reality is a lot different from hers and that you're not really, you know, her mother."

Sam felt pain at Daniel's words, no matter how true. Grace could easily have been her daughter if things had been different, if she'd been as brave as Samantha and taken what she'd secretly wanted and suppressed even to herself.

Sam composed herself and finally turned away from the observation window. "Hey, I think I'm gonna head over to my quarters and just be alone for a while." She tried hard to smile, but it ended up more like a wince.

"You do what you have to, Sam," Daniel said as he watched her leave the briefing room.

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><p>Sam Carter collapsed on the military issued bed no longer able to stand on her feet. She curled herself around a pillow and finally let the tears slide down her cheeks.<p>

The moment Daniel had mentioned Grace's name all she'd felt was numb. It was the same name of the little girl who'd haunted her on the _Prometheus_ months before.

She'd always wondered after that who and what Grace represented.

Teal'c had been her warrior's instinct, her practical side that made sure she survived.

Daniel had been her curiosity, her need to explore despite possible dangers.

Her father, she figured, were her secret regrets. Regrets that she had never voiced to herself for fear of realizing just how lonely she was.

Then there had been Jack. He'd been her confidence, the one who spurred her on even when things looked rough. He'd also been the one who questioned her feelings for him. The one who made her think that maybe what she felt for him was just an excuse to avoid being in a real relationship where she was bound to get hurt.

She'd told herself to move on, to find happiness wherever she could get it. It was either with Jack or someone else. But Jack meant sacrificing her career and she wasn't even sure if he still felt the same. Trying to read Jack O'Neill was like trying to read Ancient. Unless you were Daniel Jackson, you just couldn't. So, she'd moved on to someone else.

She had to admit she was having second thoughts about Pete. Imaginary Jack told her that he would always be there for her no matter what, but her relationship with Pete had only served to drive them even further apart.

When he'd downloaded the Ancient database for the second time around, she'd had her doubts about having moved on. The thought of him dying had pushed her to try and at least see if there was anything at all left between them. Almost four years had passed since their forced confessions and their time as Jonah and Thera; Long enough for feelings to lessen and die.

She'd thought she'd seen something in his eyes before they were rudely interrupted. Then on the ship, Jack didn't want to know. He'd known he was dying and he didn't want a long drawn out scene between them, a death bed confession that would only serve to hurt them both. That wasn't Jack O'Neill's style and when he'd come back seemingly restored at the Asgard Homeworld, they had shared a brief but intense look.

She'd thought of breaking things off with Pete then. Then another panic had set in as Jack had collapsed and everything had changed.

He'd somehow gotten himself promoted and she saw that the chances of them getting together were getting slimmer and slimmer. He was young again, similar in age as her. Retirement was a long way away and she didn't think that he would consider it now that he had a new lease on life.

With his and her promotions, they were as far from each other as they had ever been. Jack really was unattainable as ever and she stayed with Pete because she didn't want to be alone.

Then Pete had asked her to marry him during the incident with Teal'c and the Trust. She'd debated and debated with herself and she'd even gone as far as asking Jack what he thought her answer should be. A part of her had wanted him to fight for her, to say no. But Jack O'Neill, being Jack O'Neill, left the ball in her court. It had to be her decision.

She'd eventually said yes to Pete and there begun the inevitable spiral into finally letting Jack go. Whatever was left of the feelings they had shared had turned into dust.

He'd become very professional around her, sometimes teasing, but he no longer came around her lab to visit. She chalked it up to his now very busy schedule, but she knew he was keeping his distance. Then she'd found out about his outings with the SGC boys and his sudden closeness to Daniel and she'd felt then that things were moving fast and she was losing him forever.

She'd suddenly felt so lost then. A part of her would always love him and that part was rebelling, screaming at her not to let Jack go. She'd tried to tamp it down hard, told herself that she loved Pete and he was the man that would give her a future, not Jack.

Her mind kept comparing the two and she knew she was being unfair to Pete by doing so. No man could match Jack O'Neill. He was everything a man should be and much much more. He was a hero. But like most heroes, he was so high up a pedestal, she just couldn't reach.

He was meant for far greater things than just to warm her bed. She knew she couldn't interfere with what could be a great destiny...

Her mind wandered back to Grace.

Grace, she'd assumed, was her inner-child. The Samantha Carter who wanted to be let free, to do what she wanted instead of what was required of her. But deep inside, she knew Grace was also her secret desire to have a life. A family. In her concussed mind, she'd conjured up Jack and asked him if it was possible. She'd told herself that he was a safety net and to move on.

Her mind had given her the wrong answer.

Grace was more than possible, she was now real.

The life she'd been wanting all along was now right in front of her waiting for her to either take it, or continue on her current path and marry Pete.

She just hoped that when everything blew over, she still had the luxury to make those choices.

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><p><strong>Under the circumstance, I thought Daniel was incredibly sensitive to Sam's feelings. If she keeps making stupid choices though, he might not be as nice next time around. <strong>

**Please feel free to review =)**


	10. Someone Check That Rabbit Hole

**Thanks to all my followers, ****and extra love to my reviewers for taking the time to type out a few wonderful lines. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Someone Check That Rabbit Hole<strong>

Grace and Jack were watching Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Daniel let himself in through the front door with Teal'c following closely behind.

The big Jaffa had been more than happy to come and help with decorating Grace's bedroom. It was a compliment to his sense of style that O'Neill would choose him to decide on the color and decor of his child's room.

"O'Neill, we come bearing pizza and dessert."

Jack got up from the sofa, dislodging Grace from his side. She was too focused on the the tv screen to notice, her attention on the Oompa Loompas singing and dancing around a giant Violet Beauregard.

"Ex-cellent!" He took the boxes from Teal'c and moved towards the dining room. "Thanks for coming over, T. Daniel and I had no idea where to start with Grace's room, well, except for color and it was Gracie who decided on that."

"It would be my pleasure, O'Neill," Teal's gave Jack one his rare smiles and a slight nod.

Teal'c looked over to the living room where Grace was giggling as she watched Veruca Salt being dragged into the garbage chute by squirrels.

"It's good to see that GraceO'Neill is adapting well."

"Kids you know... They bounce back pretty fast. We're just getting to know each other at the moment, all the other stuff can wait until she's more at home here."

Teal'c inclined his head. "Indeed."

"Gracie C.! It's pizza time!"

Daniel was busy setting up the table for dinner. He couldn't help but grin at Jack's drastic transformation. His friend just sounded so happy. His neglected dining table was now being used instead of his coffee table. Jack was adjusting his lifestyle to fit with Grace's. He was being a parent by instilling discipline through example.

Grace came running into the kitchen and wrapped herself around Jack's legs. "I paused the DVD, Daddy. We can watch the rest of the movie later."

"You betcha, snookums. First though, I want you to meet a good friend of mine. This is Teal'c."

Teal'c made himself less of a threat as possible. He had his arms behind his back and he bowed his body to acknowledge Grace. "It is a pleasure, GraceO'Neill."

Grace grinned at Teal'c's funny name for her. "Everyone just calls me Gracie."

"Indeed," Teal'c didn't correct himself.

Gracie looked up at her father. "He's funny, Daddy."

Jack smiled up at Teal'c. "I always thought so too."

Daniel called them over to the table and the four of them sat down to dinner of pizza and caesar salad, Gracie's favorite.

Teal'c discussed a little bit of what they'd found on PX1-313. They were convinced that the chair controlled a weapons platform just like the one they'd found on Antarctica. They would need Jack to gate over and control the chair to see exactly what else the chair could do.

"It'll have to wait until I get back. I'll need to organize something for Gracie here."

Jack was now a single father and couldn't just leave at a moment's notice. "I was thinking I could hire someone to pick her up after school and watch her until I get back in the evenings. As for lockdowns , I'll need to have a talk with Dave Dixon and ask him what he and Lainie do with their kids."

Dave's wife Lainie worked part-time as a Phlebotomist at the Academy hospital. She sometimes did overnight shifts, and when Dave was off-world someone had to look over their brood.

"SG-13 is scheduled to be back tomorrow," Daniel informed them.

"I'll give him a call then," Jack replied.

"I really like school, Daddy," Gracie suddenly said between mouthfuls of croutons.

"That's 'cause you're a smarty pants, Gracie C."

"Yep. I do special lessons with Dr. Felger and Dr. Coombs."

_Fel-jer?! _Jack mouthed to Daniel who just shrugged.

It was becoming clear that Jack would have a lot of things on his plate when it came to Gracie and would need as much help as he could get from his friends.

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><p>Jack had to return to his duties much earlier than he'd anticipated.<p>

They needed his unique expertise off-world and he had to concede that he was in the same position as every other parent in the military and would have to put family second to country and planet.

Charlie and Janet had volunteered to watch over his little girl, but he didn't want to interrupt the routine that they'd established at home by moving her to the base even for just a couple of days.

He, more than anyone knew how a short mission could turn into extended one when things inevitably went FUBAR.

Salvation came in the form of early final exams and Cassie coming back from Janet's parents down south to say goodbye to her friends before going off to college.

Cassie had decided despite her grandparent's initial apprehension to join the Air Force. She wanted to continue the work that her mother had been so good at. Even before Janet's untimely death, Cassie had shown aptitude in math and sciences. She was a good student and everyone knew that she would become a fine doctor worthy of her adoptive mother.

Jack had picked her up from the airport and on the way home explained the many new things in his life. It was a testament to all things weird that had happened in the young woman's life that she'd taken in his story quite calmly and withheld her questions.

Cassandra happily volunteered to take care of Grace while he was away off-world.

Reynolds looked down at them from the control room as Jack and the rest of SG-1 assembled at the base of the Stargate's ramp. The Colonel was in charge of the SGC while the General was off-world lending his Ancient expertise.

Jack could feel the anticipation in his bones. The last time he'd been off-world he was still a Colonel and SG-1 was his. Now SG-1 belonged to Carter and the dynamic was slightly off. He could easily take command as he was the ranking officer, but in reality, he was just tagging along _Carter's _ mission. They needed him for one particular task and that was the only reason he was even allowed to go on this mission.

He was Hammond now and the previous General rarely made it off the base. Jack still felt that he was ill-equipped to fill the General's very shiny shoes.

The gate swooshed open and settled into stable event horizon. Jack looked over to Carter and nodded for her to give the order.

"Let's move out!" Carter said formally.

She took point and the rest of the team followed with Jack bringing up the rear.

The heat of the deserted planet hit him like a punch in the face. The atmosphere felt thinner much like being on top of a mountain back on Earth. Red dust blew all around them forcing the group to don their goggles or face blindness.

Carter signaled for them to head towards the makeshift base inside the ancient structure.

He was the last one inside and the moment he stepped into the building, something strange started to occur.

"_Whoah_, what's that?" Daniel had frozen on the spot and was looking apprehensively at the now flickering walls.

Jack stepped further into the building and more lights started to flicker on. He thought about playing dumb for a moment, but he was anxious to get the mission over with and get back to his daughter.

"It's probably recognizing my Ancient gene just like in Antarctica. The ZPM has been removed and the building is trying to draw residual power from somewhere, most likely a generator of some kind."

They were all looking at him slightly aghast.

Daniel was the first to speak. "I guess that makes sense. Sam?"

"That would've been my guess too."

The scientists who were on site all came running at once through the large corridor that lead deeper into the structure. All were talking at once and they all stopped at the sight of SG-1 and General O'Neill.

Dr. Lee emerged from the gaggle of scientists and went up to the newcomers. "General O'Neill! Thank god you're here. We've been asking for you for the past few days. We knew the moment you arrived- The walls!"

"Started flickering," Jack concluded once again this time with a smirk.

Dr. Lee sometimes reminded him of an over eager groundhog.

"I'd like to get started right away, if you don't mind." He started guiding Jack towards the corridor and Jack had no choice but to follow the enthusiastic scientist. "We need you to sit in the Ancient chair and see what sort of goodies it controls."

SG-1 trailed after them in varying degrees of amusement. They were all familiar with O'Neill's lack of patience with scientific types.

They arrived in the main chamber housing a familiar looking Ancient seat with crystals of different colours strewn around it. Floodlights were in each corner of the room powered by the portable naquadah generator.

Jack felt a familiarity with the place and he wondered if that had anything to do with his downloading the database into his brain or if it had to do with the Asgard improving the capacity of his noggin.

He recognized the circuitry that Dr Lee and his team had been working on. The team had done a good job in jury rigging the chair to work with the naquadah generator. The floor and chair itself was aglow with power and all Jack had to do was sit down and see what the machine controlled.

He made himself comfortable and felt the seat recline back as he shifted his hands on the gel like controls.

A series of fast moving projections appeared above them. Jack scanned and processed the rapid influx of information, his eyes moving from side to side.

Sam watched him in shock as he apparently absorbed the vast amount of data streaming from the ceiling. The room had fallen silent and all of them watched the General intently. They couldn't understand what was happening. She herself was afraid that something had gone wrong and the Ancient chair had done something to O'Neill.

She still remembered the last time he'd messed around with Ancient tech. The memories and feelings of losing him were still too fresh and she wasn't convinced that she ever really got him back.

The chair suddenly lurched forward and Jack nimbly pushed himself off the Ancient platform.

"Right!" Jack clapped his hands together and addressed Dr Lee. "It's pretty much your run of the mill Ancient outpost. Much more stripped down than the one on Earth, defensive-wise. This was their equivalent of a retreat, if you could call a giant, humongous structure a holiday house-"

"Are you okay, Jack?" Daniel was giving off concerned vibes. Jack had handled the whole reading Ancient thing a bit too blasé in his opinion.

"Daniel?"

"Jack."

"What, _Daniel?_"

"You_ read_ Ancient?"

Jack gave him an odd look. "What of it?"

"Uh, did you always read Ancient? Since when, if you don't mind me asking?"

Jack went over to a table and picked up the first liftable thing on it and started fiddling. "Ah, you know, that time with the um, the groundhog day thingy."

"Sir," Carter finally piped up. "You weren't just reading Ancient, you practically absorbed all the information from the database. Are you sure you're okay?"

He replaced his new found toy on the bench and turned to look at Carter. "I'm fine, Colonel. Like I said, I managed to pick up more Ancient than I thought."

They clearly wanted to ask him more questions, but Jack had walked out of the room.

"That was strange," Daniel said staring after Jack's departing form.

"Indeed," Teal'c acknowledged.

Sam glared at the other three men left in the room. Dr Lee and the other scientists had gone after Jack. "Am I the only one who thinks that whole thing was nuts?" she pointed at the Ancient platform. "General O'Neill managed to go through a massive amount of information in just under five minutes. That's not normal! We have to do something."

For once it was Daniel who was calm and collected. "I'm sure Jack will tell us in his own time. He's been through a lot of stuff lately and I have to say this isn't the first strange thing he's done since he's return from the, the-"

"The dead, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c supplied.

"You know, I really don't like that word. His mind never really died, I mean by all accounts you could say I died, but really I ascended-"

"Daniel!" Sam shouted to stop the flood of words coming from the archaeologist's mouth. She really wasn't in the mood for all his existential meanderings. She was really worried about Jack, but had no idea how talk to him. "What other strange things?"

"What?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "What other strange things has the General done?"

"Well, for instance, I didn't realize he knew how to debug the dialling computer."

Jonas and Teal'c looked at each other, both raising their eyebrows.

"At the time, I figured he probably picked it up from you, but in hindsight it seems a bit strange that he would even be interested enough to learn it."

"Daniel, do you even know what level of programming know how is necessary to even fix the simplest thing on the dialling computer?"

Daniel frowned at her. "No. Not really."

"Only me, Dr. Lee and a handful of scientists and top level technicians are trained to fix glitches in the dialling program. It's not something you just pick up looking over someone's shoulder."

"Oh."

"I guess we shouldn't be too worried then," Jonas kindly pointed out. Everyone suddenly stared at him as if he was nuts. "Think about it. It means _this_ Ancient chair didn't do anything to him. The incident described by Dr. Jackson happened back at the SGC and the General has never set foot on this planet before today."

Teal'c canted his head. "A good point, Jonas Quinn."

A loud piercing sound suddenly penetrated the room and shouts erupted from the corridors of the outpost.

Sam was the first one out of the room followed by the three men. Teal'c took the rear, his staff weapon at the ready.

Dr. Lee was the first of the scientist they encountered, wildly gesticulating at whatever it was that was making the noise.

"It's alright, it's alright. I think the General managed to trip an alarm of some sort. He says he can turn it off!" Lee told them completely confident in O'Neill's ability.

Sam looked back at Daniel, Teal'c and Jonas, aghast. "I think I might go and help the General-"

The alarm cut out right then, plunging them into the familiar hum of the outpost.

"No need, Carter. It's done."

Jack slipped out of a crawlspace close to the floor by Dr. Lee's feet.

"Sir?" Sam was confounded. Was she the only one concerned at what was going on here? The General wasn't equipped to deal with these sort of matters. Now, all of a sudden, Dr. Lee and Daniel were treating him like he did all these things everyday. She had an overwhelming need to check that she was still in her own reality and with all the things that had gone on the past few days, she was quite open to the idea, if only she could go back to before things had gotten complicated.

"_Whoah_! I didn't get to see _that _ room!" Jonas interjected.

Sam realized that she'd been woolgathering for far too long and that the rest of her team had managed to open the door that had set off the alarms.

O'Neill's increasingly bizarre behavior had been forgotten by the rest of the men and they'd gone past Sam into the now opened Ancient room.

"It looks like some kind of lab," Daniel muttered to no one in particular.

As much as she wanted to pursue her own line of inquiry, Sam couldn't help her own curiosity. She followed them in and couldn't help but gawp at her surroundings.

They'd somehow stumbled into a treasure trove of technology. The many benches that were interspersed around the lab each held all kinds of machines. It had been left like the occupant had stepped out for some coffee and somehow had failed to return.

"Cool," she heard someone say.

She turned from her perusal of the goodies laid out in front of them and looked over to the General who had found a seat and was about to make himself comfortable.

"Ah, sir, I don't think that's wise."

General O'Neill grinned at her. "Relax, Carter. I don't think this one's like the other chair."

_It did look similar, though. _Sam thought worriedly.

O'Neill sat down and placed his hands in the gel like control panel on the arm rests. No holographic images appeared, but the machines around them did start to power up.

"I think it's working now," he told them. "The system just needed authorization."

Sam eyed him wearily. "And you know the codes?"

O'Neill shrugged as if she was asking a simple question. "My genes are the codes."

He jumped off the chair and Sam expected the machines to immediately turn off without O'Neill's presence, but much to her surprise, they remained running.

"Okay, boys and girls. Don't say I don't let you play off world. This room alone should keep amused for a few days at _least_."

Dr. Lee looked about to burst with excitement.

Jonas was grinning from ear to ear, eyes shining with glee.

Daniel was already picking up a journal that had been left open on the table.

Teal'c looked in wonder at all of it.

Sam's eyes remained trained on the General.

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><p><strong>For those ardent SJ shippers, fair warning that the next few chapters aren't going to be pretty. Reviews are always welcome =)**


	11. I'm With Stupid

**Undeniable proof that authors do work faster with proper incentives: Thanks for the _EIGHT_ amazing reviews mmkbrook. Here's a new chapter =) Also, thank you to these lovely reviewers: Pat, PIntheM, Kahuna, Lush, Robin and Dp.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: I'm With Stupid<strong>

Jack tried to avoid the look Carter was giving him from across the room, and sat himself back on the Ancient chair.

He knew her brain was going a hundred light years an hour (or, as she'd no doubt quantify it, 8.77x10^5 c) trying to figure out what was going on with him. She wasn't as easily distracted as the rest of her team, and unlike Teal'c she wouldn't be satisfied to wait for an explanation until Jack was ready to give one.

His unusual behavior was probably raising red flags in her head, and if he were a betting man he'd lay a good stake that she was contemplating how to go about confronting him about it. Only their recent issues were preventing her from speaking to him alone.

He wished he could be forthright with her, but a part of him felt the need to keep this side of himself from Carter. He knew it was all about protecting himself from further hurt. He'd given her so much of Jack O'Neill already and he wanted this part only for him. The part that was good enough to be with her, but was way past too late.

It was completely ridiculous, selfish and had no place in his command. This had nothing to do with their relationship, or lack there of. This was about the big, honking, picture. He couldn't expect Carter to be in the dark about something this big and expect her to follow his orders.

If only Doc Fraiser could explain everything to Sam, like she used to. She'd be the buffer he needed and he could continue acting dumb...

A contraption by one of the corners of the lab suddenly turned on.

"Ah, Jack. What did you touch?" Daniel asked, now ignoring the journal he'd been reading.

Jack raised his hands up. "Wasn't me."

"Who else could it be then? You're the one controlling all this- this stuff!"

"I'm telling you, Daniel, I didn't touch anything!"

"Sir!" Carter was pointing at the pulsing ring, a foot and a half in diameter, mounted on a pedestal, looking very much like a miniature Stargate,

"Ah, crap!" Jack cursed grumpily. "Everyone out. We don't know what that thing's gonna do and we're not sticking around to find out."

"Sir, we can't just leave," Carter protested. "There must be a way to deactivate the device. You've managed to figure out how to work everything else here, couldn't you try to figure out what it does or how to turn it off?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't go that far, Carter. All I've done is the equivalent of turning on the lights."

She looked back at him with pleading eyes. "At least try, Sir."

Jack looked away in resignation. "Fine. But I want everyone else out of here now."

"I will not leave, O'Neill." Teal'c told him.

"I appreciate the sentiment, T, but I doubt I'll be needing you with this. If things go to hell, I'll need you and Danny to be there for Gracie."

Teal'c's expression softened and he gently bowed his head in Jack's direction. "It would be my honor."

The device was now pulsing harder, the lights on the circumference getting brighter.

"Jack?" Daniel's look was questioning.

"Go," He told them. "Carter-"

"I'm not leaving, Sir. So, don't bother."

She'd pulled out some sort of scanning device and was refusing to look at him.

_Stubborn woman. _

"It's emitting some sort of energy very similar to that of the Stargate. But I don't think it's creating a wormhole."

Something clicked in Jack's mind.

"Did we do any scans on the quantum mirror?"

Carter shook her head. "We still don't know much about how it works, much less how or where it draws power."

So much for that theory then.

Carter sighed in frustration and looked up from her device. "I'm sorry, sir, I've got nothing."

She stepped away from the Ancient device and approached him. "Maybe if you 'think' to the chair what the device is, it'll give us a clue," she suggested in desperation, glancing at the rapidly pulsing ring. "Please, sir, you have to at least try!"

He raised his eyebrows at her before finally closing his eyes. Right. the hell is that _thing_? More importantly, how the heck do you turn it off?

The response was immediate. The ring stopped pulsing, the lights replaced by what looked like the illuminated chevrons on the Stargate. Unlike the Stargate though, these lights all blinked on simultaneously, sending a blue wave of energy from the chevrons to the center of the circle, creating what appeared to be an event horizon.

Jack pushed off the control chair and cautiously approached the device, Carter stepping hesitantly behind him. Both of them considered the device for a moment, before Jack reached forward and stuck his hand in the center of the ring.

"Sir!" Sam stared at the back of his head in horror. His hand had disappeared into the watery surface of the event horizon.

He held her back with his other hand. "It's fine, Carter." He pulled back the hand that was inside the ring and raised up his wiggling fingers for her to see. "See? No damage."

Sam glared at him in reproach, but held her tongue. Sam Carter was too good of a soldier to utter anything disrespectful to a superior officer - even if he was being a complete and utter idiot. "Sir, did you feel anything when you put your hand through?"

"Cold," he replied quizzically. "Like sticking your hand inside a deep freeze. I also hit my hand on something when I pulled it back."

Sam frowned in consternation, and thought for a moment, before she suddenly left Jack's side and exited the laboratory. She came back half a minute later, bearing a part of the MALP that had come through with the science team.

Jack caught on to what she was doing, took the MALP visual recorder from her and plunged his hand back into the event horizon while holding the gadget.

Sam turned on the receiver. The visible light video feed coming through was all black, and she switched to IR. A grainy grey-tinged image appeared on the hand held monitor.

Sam and Jack frowned at the nondescript image being transmitted. Jack tilted the camera up to get a better view of what they were actually looking at, and almost dropped the camera when the image came into focus.

Jack grimaced in disgust. He wasn't particularly squeamish, it wasn't like he hadn't been around corpses before. He'd created enough of them first hand to last two lifetimes. But there was something about the situation that made his stomach slightly queasy. Maybe because he hadn't anticipated what he was sticking his idiotic hand into.

Sam's wariness increased at their discovery. The last time they'd defrosted someone from an Ancient tomb, they'd been afflicted by a virus that had forced Jack into being implanted with a symbiote. She refused to think further of the painful events that it later led to.

"Dammit," Jack swore under his breath. He pulled back his hand from the device, and set down the camera on top of a nearby bench. He gave Sam an apologetic look. "Sorry, Carter, but I think we're going to be stuck here for a little while longer."

"Teal'c. This is O'Neill," he said to the radio attached to his vest.

"_Is everything alright, O'Neill?" _Teal'c's voice came through loud and clear.

Jack walked over to the control panel located by the sliding doors at the entrance of the lab, and keyed in a command, effectively shutting him and Carter in the room. "Things are fine for now," he replied back over the radio. "But I need you to contact the SGC and assemble a hazmat team. Carter and I might have been exposed to a possible contagion. Make sure Doc Fraiser is with them."

Teal'c's reply was emotionless. "_Understood. Teal'c out." _

A few hours later, a temporary decontamination area had been set up at the entrance of the lab. Doctor Fraiser, wearing a hazmat suit, had taken their blood samples to test for possible contagions.

They had no idea how long it would take to isolate the virus if there was one, so it was decided to make their stay as comfortable as possible. Two cots, blankets, pillows, and MREs were delivered to them just as Janet had left with the blood samples.

Jack immediately avoided talking to Sam by occupying himself with the various gadgets littering the lab. They'd mutually agreed not to futz around with the control chair until they knew the results of the blood test. The device they had turned on was still lit up, but the watery surface had disappeared. Jack surmised it was in power saving mode, since the moment he came within half meter of the device the event horizon once again formed.

Sam chose to work on her laptop, making notes of her observations, to avoid the uneasy silence that permeated the room. Inside, she was in turmoil, hating the tense atmosphere that had not been present before her engagement to Pete. It used to be so much easier between them. Being in his company, just the two of them, had been a sought out time for her. Now, everything was colored with awkwardness.

When she looked at his face, all she could see were her regrets. It made her damned uncomfortable to know that he'd been with her double, shared something so intimate that she could only dream about. A part of her resented him for having experienced something that they should've experience first together.

Her thoughts had so deepened, that her fingers had stopped tapping on the keyboard, her mind so engrossed on her inner musings, her face reflecting the building anger she was feeling.

Jack observed the scowl on her face, thinking that whatever Carter was working on was seriously pissing her off. He decided to to keep out of her way, and remain silent in his side of the room.

She was the last person in the whole planet, Earth included, that he wanted to be stuck in a room with. Give him Teal'c or even Daniel any day, and he was just peachy. With a pissed off Carter? He'd rather be in Netu.

He was dreading the moment when she would eventually get it into her head that talking would be a good idea. He doubted he would ever be in the mood for it, and the topic she was sure to bring up was not something he was prepared to discuss… ever.

With Hammond's plans for retirement coming along nicely, he figured he would get his wish soon enough. With several thousand miles dividing them, any thoughts of discussions would be a distant memory. Carter would get married to her cop, and he and Gracie could move on with their lives together in D.C..

He would miss his best friends, especially the Spacemonkey and his Jaffa brother from another mother, and he if he were completely honest with himself, he would also miss Carter terribly. But as he'd learned from losing his son, time and short term memory healed the surface wounds, if not the unyielding scars underneath, and he had to content himself with that.

If he could just survive this confinement with Carter without revealing his true feelings, and studiously avoid having to discuss her own feelings, then the upcoming months would be bearable for all concerned. The two of them would never have to cross paths again unless absolutely necessary. Once she was forever tethered to the Detective, their command relationship would be the only thing between them. If he was really lucky, any residual infatuation he had for her would have vanished, and he could think of her fondly instead of being constantly confronted with the vice like grip twisting his heart at the very thought of her giving herself fully to the cop.

There were nights though, nights where his thoughts would turn dark, and he felt the loss of her so keenly that it took everything inside him not to yell and shout at the hell he was living. The only thing that saved him was that he was used to agony, the kind that never really relinquished its painful hold.

He'd accepted long ago that this was punishment for all the wrongs he'd committed in his life. It was a perpetual purgatory on Earth that he was sure would follow him to the next world. The biggest of these sins was his culpability in Charlie's death, something for which he was sure he would never ever forgiven. If there was truth to rumors of a greater being, a deity of all consuming power, then he'd accepted that he was starting his eternal penance earlier than most.

His torment was all but assured until Kawalsky and Fraiser had waltzed back from the grave and presented him with his second chance. Suddenly, his life felt like it had meaning again; one look into his beautiful little girl's eyes, and his soul told him that there had to be a benign power up there doling out Get out of Jail Free cards.

Because of Grace, the darker moments were becoming less and less frequent. If he couldn't have the real Carter, he had the next best thing - tangible proof of the potential of what they might have been.

* * *

><p>After hours of being treated to the O'Neill brand of silence, Sam lost the will to hold her tongue any longer. The monosyllabic exchanges were driving her up the wall. He was deliberately avoiding her, and it irked her to bits that she was being treated this way.<p>

What had she done to him that was so bad? He'd been the one who had constantly reminded her to get a life. He'd made no indication that he was still interested in her after Daniel had returned. When she'd woken up from her coma, he'd corrected her familiarity with a peculiar look. He was the one who'd wished her luck with Pete, and allowed her to explain to her boyfriend what she actually did under the mountain. When she'd given him one last chance to stop her from accepting Pete's ring, he'd avoided giving her a straight answer to what she was really asking, and dammit, he was the one who'd slept with her double behind her back with full knowledge that he might impregnate her!

He was the one who should be apologizing, not the other way around.

Sam immediately paused at her train of thought, and realized what she'd just inadvertently admitted to herself. Her sudden need to speak out all but disappeared.

Guilt. That persistent gnawing at the back of her mind, the one she'd become expert at ignoring away, was guilt.

Whatever Jack's feeling were for her, she had given her heart to him a long time ago, and when she'd sought out someone else to fill the void that belonged solely to Jack, she had effectively betrayed the love she had for him.

She could make all the excuses in the world, try to put all the blame on his silence, but in the end, she'd been the one to give up and decide not to wait for him. Rightly or wrongly, it had been her choice to find someone else. She'd been the one who'd made the move to end whatever it was that was between them. What she was witnessing was the dirge and funeral of what might have been, and it was a sobering sight.

* * *

><p>A subdued pair of officers greeted Janet late the next afternoon when she'd returned to check on her patients. The PCR and viral antibody test were still in the lab, and they wouldn't know the results for a few more hours.<p>

They knew from past experience with the Ancient virus, that it was very aggressive and attacked the immune system rapidly. The incubation period was short, and if they had been exposed then they would begin to show symptoms and the antibody test should immediately confirm the presence of the virus.

Jack volunteered to have the physical exam first, the ever present penlight once again invading his eyeball with eye-watering consistency. "To think I almost missed these lovely moments together, Doc," Jack couldn't help but tease Janet. "What was I thinking?"

"That it's much better than the large needle currently waiting for your ass back in the infirmary?" Janet retorted with a deadpan expression on her face.

Despite her moroseness, Sam couldn't help but laugh out loud at the exchange. She'd missed Janet so much, and hearing this replica or her, almost made her forget the past year had ever happened.

"Watch it, Carter," Jack reminded Sam. "This same laser pointer of death and a very similar needle is waiting in your very near future." He grinned at her, his devastating smile that transformed his already handsome features into a breathtaking one, so rare in their appearances, that it broke something inside of her.

Something of her feelings must have shown on her face, because the grin slowly slipped from his lips, to be replaced by a concerned look.

Sam turned away, unable to look at him any longer without embarrassing herself and bursting into torrents of tears.

After Janet finished examining Sam, the Doc told them she would be going back to the SGC to check on the progress of the labs. Once she'd disappeared through through the decon tent, the silence continued anew.

The light teasing Jack had indulged in abruptly vanished as if it never occurred, and they were back to avoiding each other at all cost.

Sam pretended to work on her laptop while all she could think about was confronting Jack once and for all. She knew the moment they were out of this particular room, she wouldn't get the chance again to address her issues with him. With all the locked doors in their relationship, she only had this one window of opportunity.

Before she could stop herself, Sam forged on with her heart on her sleeve, ready for him to rip it out and stomp on it with his combat boots. "Is there any chance at all that our friendship could come out of this intact?" She stared hard at his shuttered expression, begging silently for him to open up even a little.

"By _this _you mean…?" Jack was careful to maintain a baffled look on his face.

Sam ignored it and continued to drill him with a serious look. "Don't. Just don't."

"_Carter-_"

"For once, just give me a straight answer," she interrupted him. "You keep saying that you're a simple guy, that must make me a complete idiot then, because I can't get a read on you."

"You're not an idiot," Jack softly replied back.

"And neither are you, sir!"

"_Sir," _Jack sighed loudly. "That's the root of the problem, Carter, right there. Until you can stop calling me that out loud and in your mind, we can never be _friends."_

"Are you saying that you don't feel anything for me?" The words felt bitter coming out her mouth.

"I'm saying that as long as I'm 'sir', I don't have the luxury of feelings, towards you or anyone else under my command," he told her firmly.

"So, I'm just one of the guys then. One of your men," she clarified in a steady cold voice. "What you said four years ago about caring about me more than you were supposed to-"

"I meant it, Carter," he said in a gentle voice. "I may not be able to say it, or allowed to feel it, but I meant it all the same." He dropped the Ancient book he'd been holding whilst they talked on the counter, and approached her silently, taking a seat next to her on her cot.

Even with a couple of feet separating them, she still felt the warmth she'd always associated with his nearness.

"But it doesn't change anything," he continued. "I can't give you what you need, and you deserve a life before your rank is the only thing left in your life. I may not like it, but unless our circumstances change, the only thing that I can give you is a promotion and a pat on the back."

Her ready reply died in her throat. She hadn't really expected a declaration of love, and she didn't get one. The closest thing she would ever get from him apparently were forced confessions. He hadn't asked her about her own feeling towards him. Not when rank still stood firmly between them. "Suppose I quit. What then?"

He stared at her for a moment, then looked away. "You would still be getting married, and once you are, any sort of friendship between us would be untenable."

His answer completely took the wind out her sails. While they had been discussing feelings, she'd all but forgotten the most tangible barrier that separated them.

He stood up and returned to his previous position. His departure signalled the end of their talk. She wouldn't be getting anything out of him that day.

There was still so much left unsaid, she still had so many questions about Grace, about his odd behavior, but she'd lost her courage after his grim reminder of what awaited her at home. She'd given him no assurances with regards to her feelings for him, and he'd asked for none. If she still had any spine left in her, she would have asked why he hadn't asked. Instead, she felt weariness suffusing her mind and body, all her courage walking away with him when he'd stood up to distance himself from her.

What Sam had still failed to realize about Jack was that he was a man of action. To him, her actions spoke louder than any words she could ever utter. Her engagement to the cop said more than enough. It more than convinced him that whatever feelings she previously had for him, were murky, and purely platonic at best. Any lingering emotion she still had was probably remnants of the past, brought on by the appearance of his daughter.

Daniel had impressed upon him how hurt Sam was by his decision to keep her existence from Grace a secret. He sincerely hoped that the reason she hadn't asked was because she understood the circumstances of Grace's birth had very little to do with his feelings for her.

* * *

><p>After another twenty-four hours had passed without either of them displaying any symptoms, Janet arrived to inform them that the PCR and antibodies tests came back negative for any viruses, much to everyone's relief.<p>

"I think that, with proper precautions, we should be able to remove the body from stasis and find out a little bit more about what happened to her," Janet suggested to both of them.

Dead bodies fell squarely within her expertise, and a frisson of excitement had gone through her at the thought of examining such a rare specimen that could provide possible insight into their human ancestry.

Jack was replacing his vest after having taken it off during their confinement. "Do what you have to do, Doc. We don't have the resources to keep people here indefinitely. If you can get any clue from the body of what it is they were doing here, it would save a lot of time."

"Did you find anything from the notes Daniel said you were translating?" Janet ventured to ask.

"Nah," Jack shook his head. "Just a bunch of mathematical formulae and scientific notations that made no sense to me."

"Maybe if you translated them for me, sir, I can take a stab at it?" Sam volunteered gingerly. The footing of their personal relationship was wobbly as ever, but she was adamant that their professional relationship would not suffer as a result.

He looked up from fastening his tac vest. "Sure, Carter. But right now, let's get suited up and retrieve that body for our very eager Doc," he flashed Janet a mischievous smile.

Once they had a portable decon stretcher and EV suits on, Jack activated the camera to get a better look at what they were about to remove from what they assumed was a stasis device. He saw that the body had been placed on some sort of shelf that could be easily pulled out along with the body.

He gave the shelf an experimental tug, and found that it easily glided towards him without much effort. He turned to Sam and Janet. "Get that decon stretcher ready."

Janet jumped at his command, and helped Sam pull the gurney over to the mouth of the ring. Jack moved aside and pulled more forcefully at the shelf and it exited the liquid surface of the device, bringing along the body which it contained.

"My god, she looks remarkably well preserved," Janet couldn't help but exclaim. She could only guess as to the age of the body, but based on what they knew about the Ancients, the body of the woman before them could easily be millions of years old.

They quickly worked to seal the Ancient corpse into the decon stretcher, safe to be transferred back to the SGC. Janet hurriedly pushed the gurney to the decon chamber to eliminate any rogue contagion that might have accompanied the body, benign or not. Every moment the body spent out of the freezer hastened its decomposition. It needed to be in a controlled environment similar to the chamber which they had removed it from.

With Fraiser on her way back to the base, Jack ordered that only essential personnel be allowed in the lab until they could determine that there were no contagions present. They had to wait for Fraiser's analysis of the body to be certain. All of them would have to keep their EV suits on to continue their work within the lab.

Jack had wasted no time in getting back on the Ancient command chair, methodically searching for any details as to what had happened to the woman, and the real purpose of the structure besides he's initial findings. He somehow doubted that the Ancients kept retreats for the sole purpose of relaxing. They didn't seem the type from the very limited number of their species he'd encountered.

After close to an hour of fruitless searching, he'd all but given up finding anything of use. While the bits and pieces of technology they had found were of tremendous value to Doctor Lee's team, the ever elusive weapons cache that would bring a permanent end to their skirmishes with the Goa'uld still eluded them.

"Anything?" Daniel approached him once he'd deactivated the chair.

"I think whoever ran this place wiped anything of value from the database. There's some star charts that were mildly interesting, and some historical data that you'd probably salivate over, but no honking space gun," Jack said regretfully.

Daniel's eyes widened at the very mention of 'historical'. "Can you download that data?"

Jack shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, Daniel."

The archaeologist rolled his eyes. "Has it occurred to you that it was an Ancient tablet that lead us here in the first place? You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss that historical data."

"It'll probably lead us to another one of these places with _more _historical data, and no weapons to speak of," Jack lamented with a shake of his head.

Daniel was about to reply, when Jonas wearing his bulky EV suit, clumsily rushed through the decon tent. He was panting and slightly out of breath by the time he got to their side.

"Both of you have to get back to the SGC," Jonas managed to get out. With a wide eyed look, he continued. "The woman… She's awake."

* * *

><p><strong>The mystery deepens. The angst continues. <strong>

**_To answer your question _Kahuna_: _I think Sam is so used to being the one clued up on things, that this sudden role reversal throws up red flags for her. Jack suddenly knows more about something than she does? He never did explain to anyone what the Asgard left behind in his mind. In canon, it was understood that the Asgard removed everything, and he's just plain old Jack. Obviously in this fic, Jack is only pretending that this is so, and the Asgard did more than just clone him, they left certain things behind. Future chapters will explain what ;-) Thank you for your subtle reminder regarding PD. I'm still in the midst of writing the next chapter. It's taking longer, because it's going to be a longer chapter. Hopefully it's worth the wait. **


	12. Chapter 12: Strangers Are Friends

**After quite an extended break, I bring you Chapter 12. **I want to thank those who've left reviews and have followed/favorited this story so far in the past few months. Thank you for being so awesome. Like the song ;-)****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Strangers Are Friends You Haven't Met Yet<strong>

"I can't believe after all these years, I'll be serving with your ugly mug again."

Charles Kawalsky slammed his new locker shut, and spun around at the vaguely familiar voice that had spoken to him. Seeing who it was, his face broke into a huge grin, and he grabbed the other man in a loose hug, slapping his back thoroughly. "Who the hell did you have to kill to get one of these on ya?" Kawalsky adjusted the silver eagle on Ferretti's dress blues.

"I tell you, it was much easier without your lazy ass cramping my style!" Ferretti teased back.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet it was more like, without my charming self around, you actually had to man-up and stop coat-tailing your promotions!"

Ferretti ignored the insult. "Speaking of charm, I heard some bullshit going around that you got it on with Doc Fraiser," he said crudely with a grin. ""_No way!", _I said. No way can that loser bag such a hotty. There's just not enough alcohol in the world to make Charles Kawalsky marriage material…"

Kawalsky guffawed out loud, slapping Ferretti hard on the shoulder. He stared fondly at his best friend. "I missed you, man." Lou had died along with Jack during the fight for the mountain. He'd lost so many friends that day, but the deaths of those two had hit him the hardest.

Ferretti grasped his partner's shoulder. "I missed you too, bud. This place hasn't been the same without you. No matter which version." It was true. Carter had briefed them years ago about Alternate Realities. Rationally, he knew this wasn't his friend, that Charlie had died at the hands of the Goa'uld, but he also believed that people weren't all that different. Carter had said that certain realities were closer to each other than others. Charlie's closeness to Jack, Sam, and himself proved that. If this was a way to get his friend back, he would take it. Lou's expression lightened. "Hey, once the Pentagon sorts you all out, I'm taking you to O'Malley's for some well deserved drinks. I want details on the doc, you hear? I might even buy..."

Charlie shook his head. "You are one sick, puppy, Louis. You haven't changed one bit." He'd thought this reality was going to be hard to get used to, but he was relieved that some things might just be the same.

* * *

><p>Jack stared down from the observation window at the Ancient woman asleep down in the infirmary's isolation room. They had put her into a hospital gown, and if he didn't know any better, she could be mistaken for an injured Airman who'd had an unfortunate encounter with something contagious off world, instead of literally being an <em>Ancient <em>being, millions of years old.

The kind of work they did under the mountain redefined everything the world knew about science, turning all their firmly held theories right on their heads. Each time they turned on the gate, something more unbelievable was brought back through it whether that be new knowledge, technology, or alien beings who provided a new insight on the human race.

When they rushed back to Earth to see what all the commotion was about, they'd found that Doc Fraiser had sedated the Ancient woman after she'd woken up confused, then panicked when she realized she was no longer on the outpost.

Watching the video recording at the infirmary, Jonas confirmed that she definitely spoke Ancient from the first few words she'd muttered. It was he who had gotten close to Ayiana the first time they'd encountered the Ancients. The two had bonded instantly, and Jack remembered how much her death had affected the Kelownan even weeks after the incident.

Jonas once explained, during a rare moment when Jack had actually deigned to converse with him, that he'd felt inexplicably drawn to Ayiana. It hadn't been a physical attraction, even though she had been beautiful, but a closeness that made him want to protect her right from the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

Looking down at the still body that reminded him of Ayiana, Jack suddenly related to the younger man's words. The protective feeling wasn't alien to him, it was just usually aimed at young children - a soft spot that he'd always had. He'd worshipped his son, and his utter failure at protecting him in the most fundamental way had made him more determined to protect the most innocent of lives. This woman tugged at his protective instincts, and he couldn't move himself away from watching her.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask. _Why were you in that stasis chamber? Who put you there? Why did your people abandon you to your fate? Was this your punishment for some heinous crime the Ancients couldn't forgive?_

He hoped fervently that they hadn't awakened something sinister, another being that would haunt them later on, another mistake that would come home to roost and bite them squarely on the ass.

He was so goddamned tired of all the battles, and for once he wanted to encounter a benign being who wasn't out to get them. Maybe a Furling, for instance. Despite the reversal in age, he wasn't willing to be in the front lines anymore. He was a father once again, and he just wanted relief from the burden of command, even if that meant just distancing himself from the middle of the war and moving to the periphery.

"You should go home." Daniel appeared by his side, still dressed in his desert tan BDUs. "Janet said they won't take her out of sedation until more test results come back tomorrow."

He didn't take his eyes off their patient below. "Yeah. I should probably do that."

Daniel curiously studied him. "You okay, Jack?"

He finally turned away from the glass partition to address Daniel properly. "You coming with me?"

Daniel shook his head. "Jonas and me have too much to do… I want to get started on those translations." He eyed Jack speculatively. "It would sure help if we had someone already familiar with the language." Jack grimaced at Daniel's thinly veiled suggestion.

"Come on, Jack!" Daniel urged. "Don't think I bought that nonsense you fed the rest of the team about learning a bit of Ancient from that time loop. I know better, but I'm willing to keep my curiosity in check if you help us a little bit with this. No one has to know," he added in an attempt to sweeten what was effectively blackmail.

Jack sighed out loud in frustration. Leave it to Daniel to make coercion sound like he was actually doing you a favor. "All right," he relented. He pointed his index finger at the archaeologist. "But not here," he admonished, spinning Daniel around and pushing him towards the door. "Grab what you need and we'll do this at my house."

Daniel stopped moving to frown in confusion, then asked, "Can Jonas come?"

"You can bring a friend," Jack said in a mockingly sweet voice.

* * *

><p>"Daddy, you're home!"<p>

Gracie broke away from Cassie's hip, and shimmied down to the floor. She ran straight into Jack's arms, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Missed you, daddy. I drawed lots of pictures for you. Cassie stuck it on the new fridge."

Jack stood up, taking Grace with him. "Ex-cellent. I definitely wanna see what you've been up to," he told her, tickling her tummy, sending her wiggling and giggling on the way to the kitchen.

He passed Cassie, and stopped briefly to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, kid. You did good," he told her gratefully. She followed them to the kitchen, and poured a cup of coffee for Jack as he oohed and ahhed over Gracie's creations.

"Now, I'm pretty sure that's Uncle T," Jack studied the brown stick figure with a yellow circle on his overly large head.

"Uncle Daniel," Gracie pointed at the skinny figure with giant glasses drawn on his head, and what looked like a book attached to his hand. Jack grinned at the extremely accurate crayon drawing.

"He-llooo, anyone home?" Daniel stuck his head around the corner leading to the living room. At the sight of the thick Ancient book firmly clutched in his hand, Jack let out a rare laugh.

Daniel pursed his lips. "What's so funny?"

Gracie pulled away from her dad, and rushed Daniel for a hug. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted her by returning her kiss on the cheek. "I missed you."

"You're going to reads me more stories?" Gracie asked him excitedly. He'd become one of her favorite people in the short time they'd known each other. Gracie also had an Uncle Mark, but she didn't like him very much. He was too bossy, and was mean to her other uncle, Uncle Charlie. She liked having all these new people added into her small family. She only wished that her mommy was also round, but her mommy said that she was going up to heaven to be with her other Daddy and Grandpa Jake.

"It's a date, young lady," Daniel grinned enthusiastically. He glanced up at Jack. "Jonas is outside parking the car."

Jack levelled him with an annoyed look. "Daniel, what did I say about letting undocumented aliens drive? He doesn't have a license, fer crying out loud!"

Cassie laughed at his annoyance. "I'm assuming _documented _aliens are permitted to drive?" she asked him teasingly.

"You betcha, snookums," he said in his thickest Minnesotan accent. He accepted the coffee Cassie handed him. "I wouldn't have taught you to drive otherwise."

"He wanted to drive, and I wanted to get a head start on this," Daniel indicated the journal he was holding. "It's actually quite fascinating…"

"Ah!" Jack held up a hand to forestall what was sure to be a long winded account of what Daniel had read. "Later. Food first. Then bath for Gracie C-"

"And story!" Grace added, jumping up and down.

"And story," Jack repeated in agreement. "Uncle Daniel can probably handle that," he smiled back at Daniel. "After bedtime, you and Jonas can do your worst, and 'fascinate' me to death."

"Incredibly generous of you, Jack," Daniel gritted out with a smile. "I'll be sure to be particularly thorough in my explanations." He looked to Cassie. "Hey, any more of that?" he begged, pointing to her coffee cup.

"If I'd known the team was coming, I would've made more." Cassie moved around the counter to top up Daniel's cup with the dregs of the coffee pot.

"Nah, it's just me and Jonas," Daniel explained. "Teal'c's doing training tonight with the newer recruits."

"How about Sam?" Cassie asked absentmindedly as she rinsed out the now empty pot in the sink.

Daniel and Jack shared an uncomfortable look.

Cassie had no idea that Sam wasn't part of the picture. She'd naturally assumed that since Gracie's mother had been another Carter from a different reality, Sam would be involved. Jack had only given her the basics of the story, and not the honkin' big mess that was the reality.

"She probably went home to be with Pete," Daniel reasoned. Jack had ushered Gracie out of the room the moment her mother's alternate had been mentioned. Daniel couldn't blame him. It was hard enough accepting that the woman you loved was marrying another man, but to explain it to your daughter? He was really starting to see Jack's point of view.

"Mmm… I doubt she'd drive all the way to Denver just to see him."

Daniel looked at Cassie with sudden interest. "I thought he got a transfer to CSPD?"

"Sam said it didn't go through. Some other guy got promoted and took the Detective position he was going for."

That was news to him, and he would bet anything that Jack had no idea either. They were all under the impression that things were progressing well with Sam and Pete as their wedding day approached. She never said anything about her fiancé still living in Denver.

"He only comes to visit every other weekend, or when Sam's not off world," Cassie volunteered. "That's probably why he's so hell-bent on getting her to set a date."

Cassie had only met Pete once, and only briefly. He seemed to be a nice enough guy, if a bit over eager. He followed Sam around like a puppy, showering her with compliments and praise. Sam seemed to enjoy the attention, and Cassie couldn't find any reason to dislike the guy apart from the fact that he wasn't Jack.

The two officers that had rescued her all those years ago had always been professional around each other for as long as she'd known them. While she'd always thought they would have made a good couple, they never indicated anything more was between them except friendship.

Her mother had been extremely tight lipped about discussing her colleagues with Cassie. She knew how precarious Janet's position had been, balancing her role as base CMO and her strict adherence to doctor/patient confidentiality, so she'd never asked.

Jack came back into the kitchen _sans _Gracie. "She's taking Jonas on a tour of her castle in the backyard," he answered to their unspoken question.

Grace's castle was actually made up of several large boxes that her furniture had been delivered in. Jack had done something similar for his son years before, but Charlie's had been made into a rocket ship. _Charlie would've loved having a baby sister_, Jack thought sadly. _He would've made a great big brother and Gracie would've absolutely adored him. _

"You okay, Jack?"

He came back to the present. Daniel was giving him a worried look.

"I'm fine, Daniel."

"Jack?" Cassie addressed him hesitantly.

"What is it, kid?" She wasn't the hesitant type. Living with Janet had shaped her into a strong young woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. If she was nervous about something, it gave Jack reason to pause.

Cassie seemed to take a deep breath, then slowly let out before finally speaking. "I was wondering when I could actually see my- I mean Janet-" she grimaced. "Doctor Fraiser," she finally settled on the formal title. "If she's willing, that is," she tagged on at the end.

Jack had been waiting for this of course. It'd been foremost in his mind when he'd cooked up the idea of getting the Kawalskys to stay in their universe. One of his concerns had been how it would affect Janet's family who all believed that their daughter and mother had been killed months before. Charlie was less of an issue since he had no family to speak of.

The Pentagon was still working on a cover story for how they've come back from the dead, but he'd known that Cassie would have to be told right away. As far as he knew, Cassie hadn't existed, or at least never came to the SGA in that universe, and so Janet had never met her. He couldn't expect that Doc Fraiser to suddenly feel obligated to act as a mother figure to a young woman she'd never met.

But just like all the Janet Fraisers of the universe, this one also had a huge, compassionate heart. When he'd explained about Janet and Cassie's relationship, she'd jumped at the chance to meet the young Hankan who'd been such a big part of the other Janet's life.

Jack smiled down at Cassie. "She said she would love to meet you."

Cassie's eyes lit up. "Really? You told her about me?"

He nodded. "In her universe, they never visited Hanka. But she'd like to get to know you and become friends."

A sliver of hurt passed Cassie's countenance, but it disappeared quickly. "I know it won't be the same, but at least some part of her will still be around," she said aloud, mostly to herself.

Both Jack and Daniel reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "I'd bet you anything she's going to fall in love with you, just like Janet did," Daniel reassured her.

Once Gracie was put to bed and Cassie retired to the guest room, the three men got to work with the translations.

"If this is correct, then we totally misjudged just how old the structure actually is," Jonas said. They were seated around Jack's living room, surrounded by books and notes. Undrunk coffees sat cold on the side tables.

"Yeah. Give or take five to ten million years," Daniel agreed with Jonas. "This throws a lot of our theories out of the window and creates a whole slew of questions."

"Well, not necessarily," Jonas was quick to point out. "It suggests that our understanding of the Ancients is far from complete, this discovery merely tells us that there's more to the story than what we'd assumed. "

"And if you boys are lucky, someone might just be able to fill in those blanks you want so desperately filling in," Jack said tiredly from his reclined position on the sofa. He'd long stopped trying to keep his eyes open. When something needed translating, he translated. Otherwise, he stayed out of their convoluted thoughts and theories. "Are we done?" he asked in a slightly whiny voice. This was so _not_ his idea of fun.

"We're going to head back to the base," Daniel said as he picked up the scattered contents of folders and replaced them. "I want to be there when she wakes up."

Jack cracked his eyes open. "Don't get into Fraiser's way. If the doc says she's ready to talk, fine. Otherwise, you guys stay away from the infirmary," he warned. Fraiser had already complained about the Science Department's curiosity getting in her way. Everyone was curious to see a real live Ancient. Janet had stern words about turning her domain into a freakshow.

Daniel promised not to get underfoot, and the two men left his house, with Jack making sure that Daniel was the one behind the wheel.

* * *

><p>Sam carefully balanced her items of precious cargo as she passed through the wide open doors of the archaeology department that was Daniel's and Jonas's domain. She found them hard at work, bent over texts, notebooks, and laptops running linguistic software. She carefully placed the large cups of coffee and box of donuts on a clear counter, the only spot that wasn't being used.<p>

Daniel looked up over the upper rim of his glasses and smiled tiredly at her. "Hey, Sam," his eyes zeroed in on her gifts. "Please tell me that's for us," he said with a hint of desperation. Jonas looked up from his frantic scribbling and grinned at her.

Sam returned the smile, and opened up the box of pastry from their favorite coffee shop downtown. "I figured you guys would need it. How's the translating going?"

Both men got up and stretched their backs before reaching for coffees and selecting their donut flavor. Daniel went for a cruller while Jonas grabbed a Boston Cream.

"We're almost done with the second book," Jonas informed her. "When Nyan gets in, we'll get him started on the third."

"Wow! That was pretty fast," Sam remarked, impressed at the speed of their progress. "I thought it would take longer since most of the texts dealt with scientific observations."

Daniel and Jonas shared a quick look, before Daniel responded. "We got a good baseline translation, and with the two of us working on it, we managed to make quick progress."

Sam observed the two for a moment, trying to figure out what _that _look was all about. She nodded. "Great. I'm really looking forward to reading what those notes say. I bet it's going to change a lot of what we know about the Ancients, their technology…"

Jonas started nodding frantically. "It's incredible, Sam. We thought that the structure was millions of years old, but it turns out that it's far more recent than that. Around ten thousand years."

"What?" Sam asked in surprise. "But what about your theory of the structure being built next to an ocean? It would take far longer than thousands of years for something that massive to evaporate into the atmosphere."

"According to the second book, one of the reasons they picked this particular planet was because its sun was well on its way to becoming a red giant. This would account for the longer days and high temperatures, as well as the incredible rate of evaporation."

Sam frowned in confusion. "But the Ancients have known about that phenomena for millions of years. They would have had to use it in order to build the gate. What's so important about this star?"

"Nothing," Daniel replied. "As far as we can tell, they picked it precisely because of its insignificance and undesirability. No one in their right mind would want to live on a solar system with a dying sun,."

"Weird," Sam said, slightly baffled.

"Maybe not," Jonas remarked.

"Go on," Sam encouraged the Kelownan. _This should be good, _she thought to herself.

"This planet was important enough to have its gate address mentioned on the columns we found on P3X-666. The Lantians clearly thought this planet had significance-"

"I'm sorry, the _Lantians?" _Sam interrupted.

"It's the name of the race that the writer of the journals referred to as his people. The reference was so brief, we almost missed it. Luckily Ja- Jonas spotted it," Daniel explained.

"That sounds kinda like-"

"At_Lantian_?" Daniel provided. "Yep. We thought so too. Which would explain, _so _many things."

"Oh my god. That's-"

"Mindblowing. We know," Daniel finished for her. He stuffed half a donut into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"We figure they picked this planet because, as Doctor Jackson pointed out, no one would be insane enough to attempt populating it. It's the perfect location if you wanted to conduct research that you didn't want to be found," Jonas speculated.

"Yet, we did," Sam was quick to point out.

"Only because we were able to translate the colonnades, and even then the laboratory was only accessible because of General O'Neill's ATA gene. Without it, there would have been no way to know it even existed."

Sam thought back at how easily they'd missed the laboratory all those days they'd investigated the structure. The door had blended seamlessly with the walls, and she still had no idea how the General had spotted it. Another mystery to add on to the growing pile that were concerning her about her boss. "So you think they chose that particular planet because they wanted to hide something."

"As Jack pointed out, the quickest way to know for sure is to ask." Daniel picked up his cup, another donut, then exited the room, leaving the other two occupants to follow.

* * *

><p>As per his instructions, Jack was the first person to be informed by the infirmary that their newest visitor was awake. Coming out of heavy sedation, she was far more calm than her first waking from stasis. Janet had summoned him the moment she began to stir, and he'd arrived just as the first signs of real consciousness appeared.<p>

"_Where am I?" _The woman asked in her own language.

Jack resisted the instinct to look at the camera that was trained on them from above, inside the observation room. The windows were bulletproof, and to protect the cameras they'd been installed behind the glass. Without the microphones inside the room turned on, he knew that no-one outside would be able to pick up sounds.

He deliberately kept his back turned, subtlely stepping forward to also keep the woman's face blocked from the recordings.

"_Terra. You're on Terra," _he replied back in the same language.

She blinked her brown eyes at him. "_It cannot be." _

"_You've been asleep for a very long time," _Jack said without inflection.

She stared at him in dawning comprehension. Her eyes closed slowly, pain evident on her expression. "_How long?"_

"_Ten millennia, give or take a few centuries." _

She opened her eyes, a storm brewing behind them. "_Why have you taken me?" _

"_We thought you dead. Your body had been in stasis and it wasn't until we brought you here that you began to awaken," _Jack explained softly.

Her eyes shifted away from his face and finally observed the room she was in. "_This technology is archaic," _she observed not unkindly.

Jack shrugged. "_To you perhaps. We are several thousand millennia behind your race. It is to be expected." _

Her breath hitched in sudden realization. "_Terra. The primitives…" _

"Easy there…" he said defensively in English. She shot him a confused look. His joke clearly going over her head, he reverted back to Ancient. "_We've come far since you last saw us. Probably not far enough in your estimation, but we're making progress." _

"_I apologize. I meant no insult." _

Jack waved his hand in easy dismissal. "_Already forgotten." _His eyebrows rose in interest when he saw the corner of her mouth quirk in amusement. _Ah, we've finally found a superior race with a sense of humor! _

He moved closer and pointed at his chest. "Jack O'Neill."

She studied him for a moment, searching his face for something, before finally returning the gesture. "_Ilana." _

She bit her lip, an expression so human that Jack found it endearingly reassuring. _They may be millions of years ahead of us, but they have the same emotions and feelings running inside them. _

"_Jakonyl, was I the only one…" _she didn't get to finish her question at his sudden laughter. She gave him a perplexed look.

"_It is simply 'Jack'. O'Neill is a family name. Jack is actually shorter for a much longer name, but we won't go into that." _

She acknowledged his explanation with a nod. "_Then you must call me 'I-La'" _she deliberately enunciated the shortened form. "_Jack?" _she tried out his name. "_Was I the only one you found?" _

He nodded shortly. He could see how much she was hoping it were otherwise. "_The planet you were on has been completely abandoned. The ocean is no longer there. You were the only thing left alive." _

"_The ever growing proximity of the star would have left the planet barren of life," _Ila confirmed.

Jack shifted on his feet, forcing himself to ask the question they were all wondering about. "_Apart from you... Why is that?" _he asked her carefully. Gone was the brash Jack O'Neill who never cared much for diplomacy. Her cooperation was far too important for him to risk antagonizing her. She was the key to answers of so many questions. He had to keep her talking before she realized just how little they did know, and she clammed up just like every advanced race they so far encountered.

"_An experiment..." _she supplied after a pause. "_that clearly did not function as we had anticipated." _She set her lips on a firm line and Jack recognized that it was all he was going to get from her. Not wanting to push her further, he decided to leave things for now.

"_I will leave you to rest Ila. A physician will be here to see to your needs." _

"_What is to become of me?" _Ila asked him quickly, her dark eyes shining with moisture as she stared questioningly at him. He was sure the question had been foremost in her mind.

"_I do not know," _he told her honestly. It wasn't up to him. When they'd brought her back through the gate, they had no idea what they were actually bringing back. It was one thing to study a corpse, it was completely another thing to study a sentient living being.

For very obvious reasons, they were very interested about what she knew. It was a whole different ball game if she was unwilling to share that knowledge. In the end, they couldn't very well force her if they were to retain any semblance of ethics and morality that was wholly lacking from their counterparts in the NID.

But once news of her existence spread, the choice might no longer be up to him and Hammond. With a war steadily building in their galaxy, and with Earth a prime target, they might not have the luxury of morals any more.

* * *

><p><strong>We finally have a name! If you're at all curious, I pictured Famke Jansen as Ila. Feel free to picture someone else of course. I look forward to reading what you guys think of this new character, and the possible impact she'll have in the story. Angst ahoy! <strong>


	13. Swings and Roundabouts

**Thanks to everyone for their input on Ila. I'm not very inclined to write OCs since SG1 had so many brilliant characters already in canon, but the story I wanted to tell needed an Ancient character, and a lot of the canon ones weren't very nice, so I had to create one. No Mary Sue, I promise! I'm kinda picturing Ila as being like 'Kamala' (The TNG ep with FJ), without the whole imprinting thing. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: Swings and Roundabouts <strong>

Daniel literally bumped into Jack just as the General was leaving the isolation room. "Ow," Daniel said deliberately as he rubbed the arm that was holding his coffee. It was a good thing it had a lid, or the sudden encounter might have been a lot messier.

His brain suddenly engaged, and realized where Jack had just been. "Hey! Is she awake?"

Jonas and Sam had joined them, and they all regarded the General with blatant curiosity.

"Yeah. Fraiser called me in."

"Well…?" Daniel prompted him further, his impatience getting the better of him.

Jack shrugged. "I didn't get much. Her name's Ilana. I think she said something about it being an experiment. Like I said… Not much."

Daniel narrowed his eyes at Jack. He clearly knew more than he was letting on, and Daniel wanted to confront him about it, but recognized that this wasn't the place and time. He'd made a promise to not reveal the extent of Jack's knowledge, and he was determined to keep that promise. With that in mind, he kept his enthusiasm in check.

"Will we have a chance to speak to her, sir?" Sam asked Jack.

"She's resting at the moment, Carter. Fraiser wants her to get cleaned up and put some food into her. You'll all get your chance."

Sam nodded obediently. Their personal relationship was strained and it inevitably bled into their professional life. She didn't want to question his orders when he'd already made his decision. "Yes, sir."

Jack walked away without further comment.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long until Daniel predictably showed up in Jack's office to confront him about his talk with Ila. Jack was impressed that Daniel had managed a whole three quarters of an hour before he was chomping at the bit in front of Jack's desk.<p>

"I wanna know exactly what she said, Jack. Every word," Daniel announced as he pulled up a chair and settled himself on it. "Don't hold anything back."

"You want it verbatim?" Jack asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

"Jack, don't be an ass," Daniel said in annoyance. "This could be the most important discovery of my career… of my life. I think I've been more than patient wouldn't you agree?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

Jack sighed in capitulation. "Fine." He recounted almost every word Ila said, editing out the part where they shared nicknames, and the brief humor she'd displayed.

"What is going to happen to her?" Daniel asked. "I mean, we can't exactly just let her go…" he grimaced at what he was saying. "That sounded really bad, didn't it?"

"Now you know exactly how everyone else is going to feel once they learn about her," Jack pointed out. "President Hayes and General Hammond are going to feel immense pressure from the NID, the JCS, and the IOA to get some answers out of Ilana, especially when they see a war is looming. What she knows could potentially change the tide in our favor."

"You're talking about her like she's some kind of weapon," Daniel said coldly. A sarcastic Jack O'Neill he could deal with. A serious Jack O'Neill put the fear of God in him.

"Isn't she?" Jack retorted. "If she knows what I think she does, then she can give us access to technology way beyond what anyone else in this galaxy has in their possession. We wouldn't need to rely on the Asgard for help… or the Tok'ra."

"This is insane," Daniel said after a moment. "God, I have so many questions, but now I don't know if it's a good idea to even ask…"

"Well if she's anything like your ascended friends, then I doubt she'll be too willing to share what she knows."

"They're kinda big on the non-interference thing," Daniel agreed. "If she does refuse to help us, what exactly will happen?"

"I doubt the NID will accept 'no' for answer. She'd have to go through the gate. The rest would be up to her."

"So, we're just gonna leave her to figure things out for herself? That seems a bit cruel."

"She's more than welcome to try contacting our other allies, Daniel. Maybe the Nox will actually deem her advanced enough to use their guest room," Jack said flippantly.

"Jack-"

"Fer crying out loud, Daniel. What do you want me to say? As much I'd love to get my hands on some big honkin' space gun, I'm not prepared to make an enemy of the Ancients and get my ass kicked to another plane of existence. From our experience with that Orlin guy, they tend to watch over their own kind. I have a feeling she'll make her own way just fine."

"This all assuming, of course, that she won't talk. What if she does?"

"Then we all live happily ever after."

Daniel took that as a dismissal and got up from his chair. "Do Hammond and Hayes know yet?"

"George got back to me this morning. He and the President are going to keep this under wraps as long as possible to give us a chance to question Ilana without outside interference. After that, it'll be out of their hands."

"Tick tock then."

Jack sighed. He had no choice. "Yeah. I'll let the doc know you're coming."

Daniel almost ran out of the door, but Jack stopped him. "And Daniel?"

"Yeah?" Daniel said just outside the door.

"Let me know if you need any help with… Ilana," Jack said in a much more conciliatory tone.

Daniel smiled in understanding before disappearing down the corridor.

Jack blew out his breath, closing his eyes for a moment. _Nothing was ever simple. _He picked up his desk phone. "Hey doc? Daniel's on his way down. Give him and Jonas full access to our guest."

* * *

><p>Jonas convinced Janet that the best way to meet Ilana was for him and Daniel to bring the Lantian woman her first meal. Food was, after all, a universal peace offering. They both acknowledged that bursting into her room, full of questions, wasn't a great way to approach her for the first time.<p>

The two went a bit overboard in their offering though. Unable to decide on what Lantians might like, they loaded two large trays with everything they could think of. Jonas held all the desserts and fruit, including a huge bunch of bananas, while Daniel's tray had the savouries.

They gingerly entered the isolation room where Ilana was now sitting up in her bed, dressed in grey scrubs instead of the open-backed hospital gown. Her dark hair was slicked back, still wet from her shower.

Her dark eyes studied them with open curiosity as they came closer with the trays. Jonas smiled softly at her as he and Daniel put their burden down on a nearby table on castors. They wheeled the table towards her, making sure to make positive eye contact to show that they meant no harm.

Jonas was pretty sure that she already knew this by the amused tilt of her lips and the softness in her expression. They couldn't forget that this woman belonged to the most advanced race of the known universe. He was sure she knew exactly what they were attempting, and was merely indulging them.

"_Greetings," _Daniel finally broke the silence by speaking in Ilana's native language. "_We are two Daniel Jackson Jonas Quinn," _he said in broken Ancient. He still struggled with the spoken syntax.

Ilana couldn't hold back her smile. "_Hello-" _she paused to consider the archaeologist before continuing. "_Dan-yel?" _she then turned to the Kelownan. "_Jow-naz?" _Ilana carefully pronounced their names.

At their excited nods, she pointed to herself. "_Ilana. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You speak a little of my language. You are with Jack?" _she asked them.

It took both Daniel and Jonas a few seconds to get the gist of what she'd said. It was one thing to read a dead language. It was another to hear it spoken by a native speaker.

Daniel was practically doing handstands and a happy dance inside. If she didn't share anything else, the valuable information she was giving them just by speaking Ancient was tremendous in of itself. The advances in linguistics… He was beyond ecstatic, but a small corner of his mind was warning him that Jack, General Hammond and the President might want something more concrete.

"_Yes," _Jonas answered her question. "_We two friends… Jack," _he continued in fragmented Ancient. He wasn't as proficient at languages as Daniel was, and it was difficult coming up with sentences on the fly. His eidetic memory was useless without a reference to draw upon.

"_Have you brought those for me?" _Ilana indicated the laden trays they'd brought in.

Jonas perked up at the mention of food. "_Yes!" _he replied enthusiastically. "_Fuel," _he said trying out the only familiar word he could come up with.

Ilana laughed, displaying her perfectly straight, startlingly white teeth. "_The word you are looking for is 'sustenance'," _she gently corrected Jonas. "_I thank you for making the effort… and for the feast," _she tilted her chin towards the overflowing trays. "_It is greatly appreciated as I find myself famished." _

At her approval, Daniel pushed the table within her reach. Ilana didn't hesitate, and reached for the grapes first. They were the most familiar to her, as these fruits had grown near her old home. She tamped down the sudden pain the memory elicited. Those things were now long gone. "_Will you partake with me?" _she kindly offered to share the bounty before her.

Daniel politely declined. Jonas took one of the apples on the tray, and took a healthy bite. He wasn't one to refuse food. "_Gratitude," _Jonas said in thanks.

"_Many Thanks," _Ilana once again corrected.

He grinned in acknowledgement. "_Many Thanks," _Jonas repeated after her.

Once she'd eaten her fill, Daniel put aside the trays, and pulled up two chairs next to Ilana's bed. "_We're very curious as to why you were put to sleep," _Daniel jumped right in. There was no point in delaying things. They would need to ask her some intrusive questions, and they would be far better coming from him than some overly aggressive NID agent.

"_The stasis chamber was an experiment we were conducting. I volunteered as a subject thinking it would only be one or two planetary cycles… I do not know what transpired, but it is obvious it did not go as planned," _Ilana explained as vaguely as possible. She did not know these people, and they did not need to know the reasons behind her voluntary act.

"Right," Daniel said with a slight frown, reverting briefly into English. "_We found journals. Perhaps they may give answers… We apologize if we have intruded, but we read two of the books, apart from this one," _He handed her the smallest of the handwritten journals. Ilana gasped in recognition. She gently accepted the book, holding as if it were a fragile bundle.

"_You know this one," _Daniel observed.

"_Yes… It belonged to a good friend." _The pages still appeared new despite its age. The sealed atmosphere within the laboratory had preserved it perfectly. She hesitated before opening the first page. These were _his _most private thoughts. Were he still alive, she would've never thought of opening it. But he was now long gone… She took a fortifying breath, and began to read.

Daniel and Jonas's mouth fell open at the same time.

Ilana was methodically flipping pages at steady intervals of only seconds. She scanned the pages with her eyes, as if taking a mental picture of each page before quickly moving onto the next.

They sat there watching her as she went through the whole journal in less than ten minutes. What had taken three men almost a whole day, she'd been able to accomplish in a matter of minutes. It wasn't terribly surprising, in hindsight, but it amazed them all the same.

Ilana closed the journal, and hugged the small tome to her chest. She looked up with watery eyes at them. "_Many thanks for retrieving this," _she said about the journal.

Daniel shared a look with Jonas before asking, "_Would you be willing to tell us what it said?" _his command of Ancient was getting better as he spoke more with Ilana.

"_It said that my people had chosen to begin their journey to The Great Path." _

"Yeah, that sounds familiar…" Daniel muttered under his breath.

"_You speak of ascension?" _Jonas tried to clarify with Ilana.

She stared at him surprise. "_Your people are familiar with the process." _

Jonas evaded the question. "_We've met some of your people. Ascended beings." _

Ilana looked at him aghast. "_It is forbidden to interfere..." _

"_Yes," _Daniel confirmed. "_Those who break the rule are punished by The Others. We know of the consequences," _he said knowingly.

"_Many have tried to ascend through various means, but it is clear the only true way is by releasing one's burden." _Ilana said mournfully. It had been a path she had hoped to take. But the burdens she carried with her were like shackles. "_Your people have come far in ten millennia, Daniel, for you to know of ascension," _she said to him in admiration.

"_To know the process and to actually achieve it are two different things," _Daniel replied. "_My people are new to this knowledge. Terra looks to the stars, but is ignorant of what is out there. Most of our people do not know of the dangers… the enemies that would seek to kill and enslave us." _

Realization dawned on Ilana. "_You speak of the beings who take Terrans for hosts." _

"_The Goa'uld," _Daniel informed her. "_They no longer rule this world, but they seek to do so again."_

"_My people could not interfere," _Ilana looked to them with regret in her eyes.

Daniel nodded in understanding. He got up, and stepped closer to Ilana. "_The belt of stars is at war. The Goa'uld have grown numerous and they have enslaved many worlds. We have planted the seeds of rebellion, but we need more allies to help in our fight. We have asked the two great races and even the Ascended beings to assist us, but only the Asgard have given us help… Ilana, when we discovered the place you were in, we had hoped to find something to help us in our fight. We found you." _

She looked away and began to shake her head. "_What you are asking of me is not possible. It is not my place to decide." _

Daniel touched her shoulder to get her to look at him. "_Ilana, there is none left of your people. You are the only one. You are not yet an ascended being. You would not be breaking any rules." _Once Orlin had taken corporeal form, he'd been free to interfere.

Her certainty wavered. It was only when her people had begun the process of ascension were they not to involve themselves in the burden of others. She had yet to commit to the path.

"_I will think on your words." _It was all she could promise.

* * *

><p>Jack turned away from the scene below him, melting back into the darkness of the observation area overlooking the isolation room. He quietly stepped through the exit and emerged out into the brightly lit hallways of the SGC.<p>

_She didn't say no. We asked for help, and she didn't give us an outright 'no'._

It was more promising than anything they had recently come up with. With so many enemies knocking at the iris, they were desperate to find something, anything, that would give them an advantage.

_And this could be it. _

Back at his office, he called Hammond directly to update him on the situation. The General was as pleasantly surprised as he was.

"...well if anyone could convince someone of the impossible, it would be Doctor Jackson," The older man chuckled over the phone.

"He certainly has a knack for it," Jack agreed wholeheartedly.

"Jack, President Hayes is here."

"I heard the whole thing, Jack. Tell your team they're doing a great job," the POTUS said over the speakerphone.

"We still haven't got a full agreement from Ilana, sir. I think congratulations are a bit premature," Jack warned, attempting to set some realistic expectations.

"I'm counting on you to get the job done, Jack. Do what you have to do," Hayes firmly told him.

"Sir?"

"She seems sympathetic to our cause. Use that to convince her to our thinking. The more she forms attachments to your team, the more she'd be likely to want to help us. Show her that we're the good guys, Jack, and that we're worth helping," Hayes advised him.

"And if she doesn't, sir? Will we let her go on her way?" Jack asked the President.

"We're not in the business of coercion. If she decides to leave us, then we'll give her safe passage through the gate," Hayes reassured him.

He'd gotten to know the President better since he'd stepped into Hammond's sizeable shoes. In that time he'd managed to exceed Jack's expectations of him, which admittedly was quite low to begin with. Very few people had the capacity to surprise Jack, and he was glad to be wrong in this instance. If the President said that they would let Ila go, then Jack believed him.

* * *

><p>Sam knew the moment she'd pulled the keys out the ignition and got out of her car, that it was a mistake. The sensible thing would've been to turn right back around, get back into her car, start the ignition and head towards her own home instead of furtively following Cassie to the children's playground.<p>

She'd driven over to the General's place, following some instinctive push to be near this child that had haunted her on the Prometheus. She'd known that the General wouldn't be home until late, if at all, so it was safe for her to lurk outside his house.

Everyone else on her team was too preoccupied with their guest. She'd yet to speak to the her since she had no real way of communicating with Ilana, whom everyone seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time feeding and questioning.

Even the General had gotten in the act, escorting the Ancient woman around the base, while Daniel, Jonas and Teal'c were busy arranging their return to the outpost the next day.

The General was also making the trip, with SG-13 acting as backup.

She had a few days leave, yet had offered to come in anyway, but General O'Neill had been insistent that she take her time off. She knew it was nothing personal, that he took care of all his men in the same way, making sure that they took the days that were due to them, but it stung that she wasn't needed. It felt like _he_ didn't need or _want _her.

Out of spite, she'd left the base earlier than she usually would and in a mutinous mood. Sam Carter disregarded Jack O'Neill's orders very rarely. it was even rarer that she followed what her heart really wanted.

This was why she was now vacillating between following orders or following Cassie and Grace into the city park where she'd surreptitiously tailed them from the General's house.

Her original plan had been to just park outside the O'Neill household and feel Grace's nearness. If she should happen to glimpse the girl though the wide open windows, then she'd count herself lucky. Maybe she might even sneak a look in the backyard if she felt a bit more daring.

What greeted her though, was Cassie's car pulling out of the driveway, the young woman driving a lot more carefully than what Sam knew was her usual style. Like most teens, Cassie thought herself invincible, and drove like she was a regular in NASCAR. It had taken a severe scolding from Janet and threats of losing car privileges to slow her down. She still sped on occasion though. Sam could sympathize with the young lady, being a pilot and speed junkie herself.

Therefore Sam was certain that Cassie wasn't alone in the car, and that she was carrying precious cargo in the form of Jack O'Neill's young daughter.

They'd ended up at Memorial Community Park at South Union Boulevard. Cassie had pulled into a children's playground by Prospect Lake. Sam idled by the side of the road to see where they were going. Once Cassie was in a space and had killed the engine, Sam drove quickly across the street, parking her car on an empty lot that was part of an apartment complex.

She'd crossed the busy road, jogging all the way to the copse of trees that would give her a clear view of the play area and Cassie's charge, all the while cursing herself for her rash decision to follow them in the first place.

There wasn't much cover and Cassie was pretty observant. If the Hankan saw her, her loyalty would be to Jack, and Sam wasn't sure what Jack's reaction would be to his subordinate's blatant disregard of his wishes.

Sam knew that if she left now, no one would the wiser. Her eyes, though, were inextricably drawn towards the small frame of a young girl dragging a laughing Cassandra Fraiser towards the swings, her long wavy blonde hair being pushed back by the brisk wind coming off the lake.

Sam's breath caught at the familiar color. While the hair wasn't as curly, it was definitely the same hair that had been indelibly seared into her memory. The sun had bleached thick strands of it, lightening the shade of blonde that had originally been the same color as her own.

She bit her lip to stop them from trembling. She blinked her eyes rapidly to shield them from the wind as she'd been staring wide-eyed at the wonder before her. Moisture had built up in her eyes from not blinking, but she wasn't sure if it was from the wind or the emotional turmoil steadily building and roiling inside her.

From the distance, she watched as Grace stumbled on something invisible, and her hand instinctively reached out to catch the girl, grasping at nothing, hovering in mid-air. As Grace met the ground, Sam's hand felt completely empty, just like the void that was rapidly forming in her heart.

She saw Cassie pull Grace up to her feet, kneeling beside her to dust off debris that clung to her knees and clothes. Grace nodded at some question she'd been asked and the two continued on their way towards the swings.

That should've been her picking up Grace, comforting her, making the hurt go away. In another life, she wouldn't be on the wrong side of thirty, so desperate to have what passed for normal for a woman her age that she was going to marry a man she was no longer sure was right for her. When she thought of her future with Pete, she couldn't picture what their children would look like. It was Grace's face that appeared in her mind whenever she thought of having a child, and she knew that would never be a possibility with Pete as the child's father.

A squeal of laughter came from the playground's direction. Cassie was pushing Grace higher and higher much to the little girl's delight. Long blonde hair whipped forwards and backwards as it caught the rush of wind.

The sound gripped Sam's heart. This was what she wanted. This child who was created through the most unusual of circumstances, yet still belonged to her. Multiple realities be damned. Sam Carters of every reality inevitably loved their Jack O'Neill. She was no different. Grace was meant to be just as she and Jack were meant to be.

She would have to convince him-

Before another thought could form, she found herself abruptly pulled from behind. She reacted instinctively, her body automatically switching to combat mode. But the person who'd grabbed her was far stronger and had anticipated her move. He'd pinned one arm behind her back and held her in a choke hold as he dragged her deeper behind the copse of trees.

She tried to kick off, but he was far too close, and before she could formulate another attack, her captor spoke close to her ear, suddenly paralyzing her struggles.

"What the hell are you doing, Carter? Just what in the hell did you think you were doing?" Jack hissed furiously in her ear.

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><p><strong>Sam I am, what have you done? Not gonna be pretty... I'd love to hear from all of you reading this. Let me know what isn't working, what is working, and just how much angst you're willing to take. Reviewing won't hurt, I promise! <strong>


	14. Say I Love You When You're Not Listening

**Completely blown away by the response on Chapter 13, that I pushed hard to get this out quickly. Short, but that's because I had to cut it in order to focus on the emotions between these two. Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews, which gave me so much insight on how you guys are taking the different turns this story is taking. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: Say I Love You When You're Not Listening<strong>

Sam felt Jack's hold on her slacken the moment she'd stopped struggling, even as his mouth remained close to her ear, the skin of her neck and the whole of her back feeling every inhale and exhale he took.

For a moment, she leaned against him, savouring his closeness despite fearing the anger that was emanating from him. He may have startled her, but he'd been gentle in the way he'd subdued her. She'd seen seen him in action, knew just how many ways he could hurt a person, and if he'd wanted to harm her he could've easily done so. She may have not liked his method of getting her attention, but she hadn't once felt fear. Despite all their issues, she would always, always trust him with her life.

Jack took hold of her shoulders and spun her around to face him. It was the first time in what felt like years that he'd been so physically close.

"I asked you a question, Carter."

"Jack-" she begun, but he interrupted her with a raised eyebrow.

"That would be 'General O'Neill' or 'Sir', Carter," he said, emphasizing his title and rank.

She hardened her expression, raising her own eyebrows insolently. "That's how you're going to play it? Hide behind ranks."

His mouth tightened at her insubordinate remark. "You've crossed a line, Colonel. I'd advise you to move back behind it before you make things worse."

She gave out a humorless laugh. "Worse how? Worse than the way you've been treating me these past few months? Worse than being told that I can't see my alternate's daughter when everyone else on my team has had the pleasure?" she spat out. She paused, glaring at him. "Why don't you just dial up Netu, send me through and have it done with? Maybe that'll make you feel better knowing that I'm not just proverbially in hell but physically in it!" she sobbed out.

Jack looked down at his hands that were holding her, and immediately released her shoulders. "Goddammit, Carter…" he swore turning away from her.

"I'm tired of this, Jack," she deliberately said his name. "I wanna know what I did that was so horrible that you felt like you had to end years of friendship and respect… Why you won't let me see my own daughter!"

"Fer crying out loud, Carter," he glanced sideways, towards the playground. She watched him hesitate for a second, before grabbing her hand and pulling her the opposite direction of the play area, further towards the lake's edge.

He pulled her along until they were far enough away from the playground, letting go of her hand before he started speaking.

"Carter," he said her name, this time, far more in control. "Let's get one thing clear," he said raising a finger. "_You_ did nothing wrong. This whole thing with Samantha…" he shook his head. "That was my fuckup. It was a misjudgement on my part. I knew what she was doing, knew she was exploiting what attraction I had for you at the time, and instead of being the stronger person, I took the easy way out and gave her what she wanted. It was a pity fuck, what I can say?"

Sam flinched at his use of the crude term.

"I'm not proud of my actions, Sam," The use of her first name startled her. When they'd spoken back in the outpost, not once did he use her name. "But I'm telling you right now, what happened between me and her at the time had nothing to do with you. When I was with her, I wasn't living out some perverted fantasy I had about my 2IC, I was trying to comfort a woman who desperately wanted something only I could give…" he shook his head again. "I genuinely thought that no one would get hurt," he grimaced. "I guess knowing my track record for screwing up the lives of those closest to me should have clued me in."

Her mouth automatically opened to defend him, but he stopped her. "Let me finish this. Let me finish before I change my mind."

She nodded wordlessly. She desperately wanted to hear what he was going to say. This was probably the last time she would get any sort of explanation from him before he regained his senses and reverted them back to their military roles.

"As for my respect, you'll always have that. There's nothing you can do that would make me feel any different. But as for our being friends, if you want me to be entirely honest, then you'll have to admit to yourself that was always impossible between us."

She recoiled in denial. Of course they'd been friends! All those times he'd teased her, all those times they'd hang out as a team, surely that had to mean something to him? "So I was always just your second in command…" she moved away, not even attempting to conceal the hurt his words was inflicting on her.

Jack stepped in front of her and tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. She sucked in a shaky breath and forced herself to look at him, no matter how painful.

"That's just the thing, Sam. You were never just my second in command. My feelings for you were always complicated. There was always something between us that made it damned hard to be just friends. I think you've known that all along, that's why you never came up to the cabin-"

"Because I knew it would only take a moment of weakness on my part," she finished for him, finally confessing the weight of her feelings after all these years. "I knew it wouldn't be you breaking the regs, it would be me, and I couldn't risk our work like that. It was far too important at the time."

"And it's still important now," he replied back. "Nothing has changed. If anything, there's even more on the line today than there was back then. We've started something out there," he referred to their work vaguely, knowing that they were in a public place, "and we have a duty to see it through."

"So, we're back to square one," she said bitterly. "Except this time I'll be under no illusion of ever having had your friendship."

His eyes hardened for a moment, but he worked hard to push it down. He looked towards the lake, visibly struggling with something in his mind, some decision, and only when he'd come to a conclusion did he look back at her again.

"You seem very convinced that I'm doing all this to deliberately hurt you," he said in a measured tone.

"Aren't you?" she retorted back.

He visibly flinched at her words, and Sam felt a bit of satisfaction from his pain. Good. It was his turn to feel some of the hurt.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe I was hurting too?" This time when he looked at her with his deep brown eyes, he let his ever-impenetrable shields go down, and allowed her to see the pain lurking behind the bluster and fury he always exuded around people.

"There was always a part of me that hoped against all odds that we'd get a shot at something in the future. That if I fought hard enough, killed enough snakes, that I'd get a break - maybe even an injury good enough to retire me - and finally get a chance with you. I still held on to that hope even after you started humming…"

For a moment, his comment confused her, but then realization set in. Oh.

"But then Thor did this," he pointed to his face. "And I got this," he pointed to the star on his green collar. "And you agreed to wear that," he indicated the ring on her left hand. "It was then that I decided that enough was enough, that I had to get over this hoping and move on with my life just as you had," he told her sadly. "To do that, I had to keep my distance. That may seem like I'm punishing you for something that you had no control over, but I saw no other way to do it. To keep you close to me-" he paused shaking his head. "I was always faithful to the vows I made to Sara. Right to the very end. You might not have taken those vows yourself yet, but I respect that you've made a promise to someone else, and I refuse to want another man's wife."

Sam gasped when Jack held one side of her face with his hand. He looked down at her, so close, enough that if she just tilted her head to one side-

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Carter, please believe me," he said in a softly pleading voice she swore she'd never heard him use before. It was almost desperate, almost pitiful, that it went against everything she knew of Jack O'Neill. Even at their worst times off-world, during torture sessions, at pain of death, she'd never heard him plead for leniency. Never heard him plead for his life. He was pleading with her now.

"All I'm asking is that you give me the space I need to finally let you go," he said to her quietly, pain evident in his expression. He let his hand drop, and she suddenly felt cold as he took a step away from her.

Everything inside her reeled at his request. _No, no, no! This wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to give him space, not when he'd finally opened up to her!_

"And I'm asking you to stay away from Grace," he said to her in a firmer voice.

That snapped her out of her inner dialogue. "What?"

He chose his words carefully before explaining. "She's four years old, Sam. She tells me her mommy went to live in heaven to take care of her grandpa and grandma and her other daddy. It took a while, but Janet tells me that she's only now stopped asking why Samantha couldn't stay and take care of her instead."

A fresh deluge of tears stained her cheeks at hearing of Grace's loss.

"She's finally getting some normality in her life," Jack informed her. "The last thing I want is to open up more hurt, to lose another person she's grown attached to," he said with a knowing look.

"What makes you think that she'd lose me?"

"You're on the front lines, Carter. SG-1 does dangerous work. But more immediately, you're about to get married. How do I explain to a four year old how mommy can only come visit once and a while? How do you explain her to your cop when he starts asking questions about why you seem to spend so much time visiting your CO's house? I can't keep making exceptions in your case, Carter. None of the other team leaders have had the luxury of having their spouse told what they do in the mountain. They know better than to ask or force the matter by snooping around."

For the first time, Sam saw just how much Pete's interference in the Osiris op had pissed off Jack. He'd been understanding at the time, but she sensed that he'd had to really rein in his temper to not show his frustration. If it had been anyone else, anyone within the SGC, they would've found themselves sitting in the brig for days.

"So just because I've chosen to have a life with someone, I'm automatically barred from seeing my kid? Is that what this is really about?" she asked him spitefully.

Jack's expression suddenly shuttered. "We're done here," he said without inflection. He made to walk away, but her hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"_No!_ There's no way we're even close to done."

He worked his jaw, then looked down at her hold on him. If he truly wanted to shrug her off, he was more than capable of it. He'd demonstrated just how much physically stronger he was when he'd dragged her deeper into the cover of trees earlier.

Sam dropped her hand. Jack shook his head in frustration. "You know, Carter," he said slowly and pointedly. "The fact that you think I'm being deliberately vindictive towards you for choosing someone else says a whole lot about how much you actually know me."

"That's not-"

"Just let me finish," he interrupted her. "Let me say what I need to and we can finally end this once and for all." He took her hand into his once again and pulled her along until they were by an empty park bench that overlooked the small lake.

He gestured for her to sit before following her example. "I'm getting too old for this crap, Sam. I've done the whole family thing. Me and Sara… we were the best. I loved her with everything in me, but shit happens and circumstances change. You've got a shot at starting a new life without all the baggage that being with me would carry. As much as-" he paused to take a breath - "as much as it hurts to see you with Pete, what matters is that he makes you happy. Despite what you might think of me, what a completely and utter bastard you think I am, I genuinely wish you the best."

He looked at her sadly. "I'm not keeping my daughter away from you because of some misguided attempt to get back at you. I wish you didn't think so little of me…" he waved off her attempt to speak. "I'm doing it because I know what it's like to fail a child so horribly that no amount of time or repentance could ever make up for it. As much as you want this to be about you, it really isn't. This is me protecting my family. My daughter, Sam, not yours."

She felt the sting of his words hit her directly in the chest. _Not yours. His family, not yours._

_Not theirs._

"We can tell her the truth," Sam persisted. She searched her genius mind for a solution. "We can tell her I'm not really her mom, that I'm some relative, something, anything!" she pleaded with him.

Jack let out a defeated sigh. "I'm not going through this with you again, Sam. I've told you my reasons and I need you to accept them."

He rose up and walked towards the water's edge. Sam studied his stiff back, hands shoved into his BDU pockets. She briefly wondered why he still wore his uniform outside the base, before her thoughts went back to the words he'd said to her.

"What did you mean when you said that we can end 'this' once and for all?" she asked him after a beat, half dreading his answer. Jack stood there for a moment not saying anything. She watched him patiently as he seemed to debate with himself, so far from the confident and decisive commander she was familiar with.

When he finally turned back to look at her, she saw the resolve on his face and felt her insides constrict in dismay.

"I'm saying that I'm done. This," he motioned between them, "has to stop. No more feeling feelings, no more caring for you a lot more than I'm supposed to," he reminded her of the words he'd said to her while strapped to a za'tarc detector and on P3R-118 where he'd revealed his deep affection for her as Jonah. God she'd fallen so deeply for him imprisoned in that frozen hell hole. Amidst the dirt and the grime, he'd been her one bright spot in the darkness.

She met his gaze with her watery eyes, her cornflower iris glistening with tears. "You can turn your feelings off that easily?"

He grimaced at her question, then replied, "Who said it would be easy?"

She forced herself to stand on shaking legs. Despite the cool breeze coming off the lake, she felt the sweat under her shirt. This was it. This was her last chance to lay it all on the table. If she didn't tell him how she really felt, he would be lost to her, and- "What about Grace?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. The desperation inside her still clamored for some sort of relief. She needed to know Grace.

"You know where I stand-"

"_Please, Jack_," she whispered softly. "Please. Promise me at least that one day, when she's older, when she can better understand…"

He agreed wordlessly. Out of the blue, he pulled her into his arms, enfolding her into a hug. She closed her eyes, feeling his hot breath as he buried his face into crook of her neck. "I think I'll always love you, Sam," he quietly said, his mouth moving against the collar of her shirt.

She sobbed loudly, her body shaking, her heart breaking at the resigned way he finally spoke the words she'd always wanted to hear. This wasn't at all how she'd imagined it.

Without warning, he pulled away. Her eyes were blurry from tears and she felt rather than saw him leave. She collapsed on the park bench, unable to stop shaking. She had so much to say, but he hadn't given her a chance. His declaration of love had blindsided her that she'd been unable to tell him that she reciprocated his feelings.

He'd just walked away…

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><p>Jack pulled out his cell phone and quickly texted Cassie that he was coming home. As much as he wanted to spend some time with Gracie, he needed a few minutes to himself to properly digest what had gone down with him and Carter.<p>

He'd finally gone for broke and confessed his feelings for her. It was his ultimate act on his way to finally letting go of her. It had hurt like hell, just like he'd anticipated. It had hurt more. To hold her in his arms as the man who loved her, but only to say goodbye.

He'd done it though. As much as it had pained him and ripped out his insides, at least he'd done it with some shred of dignity, however tattered that dignity was. Someday he could look back at that moment, and know he'd said it to her without any possible doubts as to his meaning.

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><p><strong>I hope this explained a bit more about Jack's motivation and his reasoning for not wanting Sam to meet Grace. If not, let me know, I'll keep working on it... or at least tell the story better. Let me know if this at least mellowed your feelings toward both Jack and Sam. Did you at least feel the love? <strong>

**_REVIEW RESPONSE (FOR GUEST REVIEWERS)_**

**Thank you Kim, EAC, and All the Guest reviewers. **

**Kahuna: I agree with you 100%. You seem to read my mind! I should get you to write this! LOL Sorry for the delay with PD. Half done at the moment, admittedly bcs of this fic. I suck =(**

**Mercy: They're just friends in this fic ;-) But, hey, Rule 34!**

**Carrie: I'm glad the characters are really coming to life for you. My constant fear is that I'll bore you all to death. Jack's is not trying to be an ass in this particular instance. He genuinely just wants to protect Grace. **


	15. Leave Some Morphine Out My Door

**Pineapple Express chucking it down the whole day, and guess what? The awful weather got this out of my beta's inbox. Thank the rain soaked roads that had most folks wisely staying in today. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: Leave Some Morphine Out My Door<strong>

After Sam had agreed to marry him, he'd promised himself that his last call to G-Man Farrity would be the last time he would get involved with Sam's work without her permission. She had made it patently clear to him that her military career was off-limits. He wouldn't ask any questions, and she won't be forced to lie to him. It was something they had tacitly agreed to.

It had been extremely difficult not to ask questions when she would disappear for weeks on end without contact, and then show up all banged up from a mission. She always refused to speak about what happened, quoting her usual 'classified' mantra.

He found it ironic that he was now on the other side of what he'd put his former wife through - which had ultimately ended his marriage. If he didn't love Sam so much and know how extremely lucky he was to have a woman like her in his life, he probably would have thought twice about his decision to go through with the wedding. Maybe even the relationship.

Sam had always been reluctant to give too much of herself. He'd always known that there was a part of her that he would never know until she decided to fully open herself to him. He'd thought that her decision to marry him would persuade her to start sharing more with him, perhaps even make her decide to cross that final line of openness. But she'd convinced him that she wanted to do things differently, and that because it wasn't a first engagement for either of them, or a first marriage for him, then they should do something special. He'd thought it incredibly romantic at the time, and he'd agreed that they should keep separate houses until after the wedding.

He was now starting to believe that Sam still had doubts, and had used what he thought was a romantic idea as a delaying tactic to keep him at arms length. She had yet to set a date and he'd been incredibly patient with her.

He told himself that Sam had been burned before. They'd dated so briefly and she was just being cautious and needed time to get to know him better. She had a busy job. They had plenty of time to set a date. What was the rush?

But she barely spent enough time with him, and she didn't act as if they were engaged. He knew none of her friends. The ones he'd met were stand-offish and seemed uninterested in getting to know him better.

When her best friend had died, he'd only found out because he'd surprised her with tickets to a musical in Denver, and he'd arrived to a scene of a weeping teenage girl on Sam's sofa. It had been after the funeral. Sam hadn't even considered him comforting her, and instead sent him on his way so she could take care of the girl.

It was only a few weeks later that he'd found out her name was Cassandra Fraiser and was adopted daughter of Janet Fraiser, the base CMO. That had been through Farrity. According to official government records, she'd been KIA in a rescue mission abroad that had gone wrong. Sam had never divulged what really happened.

A few weeks later he'd called her repeatedly to no avail. Her voicemail was full and her cell was turned off. He'd even gone as far as calling the base, but no one would tell him anything. He'd finally called Sam's brother Mark, thinking he was probably her next of kin, and would know if something had happened to her.

He'd gotten the shock of his life when Mark embarrassedly told him to call Sam's boss rather than him. Apparently "O'Neill, J." was listed in her files as her next of kin. His mind had reeled at the implication. Was that even normal? Was it something they did in the military? Mark had replied, that no, it wasn't normal, but what Sam did wasn't normal either.

When Mark had questioned their father about it, General Carter had brushed him off and told him to mind his own business. He knew O'Neill and he would take care of Sam. Mark told him that Jacob was Air Force through and through, and often thought of his men close as family. He was sure this was why he had put such trust in Sam's CO.

But it had always niggled at Pete that after they got engaged, Sam hadn't thought of listing him as her next of kin. She'd kept the status quo, and when he'd tried to discuss the issue, she'd clammed up and changed the subject.

When he'd had the chance to properly meet O'Neill at that restaurant where they'd bumped into a bunch of guys from her work, Sam had looked uncomfortable, almost embarrassed. O'Neill had acknowledged him briefly, and he had realised that the older CO he vaguely remembered seeing when Sam had been called into work in the middle of a date, wasn't as old as he'd thought.

He'd made another call to Farrity then, his friend firmly telling him that there was no way he was looking into his fiancée's records again, especially anything to do with her CO. His searches had been flagged, and another infraction would land him in deep shit.

He'd tried wheedling it out of Sam instead, but she was like an immovable wall. She was too good at shutting people out, and for the sake of their relationship he'd stopped asking. There had been a look of warning in her eyes, and whenever he even mentioned O'Neill a look of pain would briefly appear, before she was able to cover up her emotions properly.

He was a good cop, a great cop. He knew how to read people, and there was something not right between her and O'Neill. He'd tried to dismiss it, tried to get to know her friends better by inviting them to his bachelor "do". His attempts had only served to humiliate him in front of his friends and family, and further cement his suspicion that something odd was going on with Sam and her boss.

O'Neill had taken too much pleasure in putting him in his place in that paintball field, despite his nephew Adam's insistence that 'Jack' was the greatest thing since sliced bread and had taken great effort in getting to know him.

Adam kept going on about how 'Jack' was awesome at hockey. 'Jack' flew planes for living. Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack… He'd had to tell the kid to shut up, and had taken his ire out on Sam for not telling him that her scientist friends Jonas and Daniel were quite familiar with combat. She'd replied that he'd never asked.

How the hell was he supposed to know that an archaeologist and physicist would know how to handle guns or be trained to work as a unit. O'Neill, on the other hand, he could understand knowing his way around small arms, and even her big alien friend, who she refused to talk about as well.

"Murray", or rather Teal'c's past was off-limits. He could know the basics, that the guy was basically an alien from another planet, and that he was now fighting on their side in some cosmic war, but that was it. He knew about the other aliens, the Gould, that they were somehow hell bent on taking over the galaxy, and Sam's work involved making sure that they didn't. They went through something called a Stargate, and Sam's dad was somehow involved, but she couldn't discuss that until she was able to get in contact with him and tell him about her engagement.

Another secret.

Another thing he wasn't privy to.

Another thing Sam's boss knew about, but Sam's own fiancé didn't.

Another reason why he'd had to break his promise to himself, and follow Sam from work when she'd deviated half way home and gone to her boss's house instead.

It was why he'd stood across the street from Memorial Park, his binoculars trained on the surreal scene being played out in the park like some TV show. He'd almost run over when he saw O'Neill grab hold of Sam, his blood boiling at the implied violence. But he'd halted when Sam had relaxed into O'Neill's arms despite the dangerous hold he had on her.

The intimate scene had rocked him to the core.

He'd watched in morbid fascination as an argument had erupted between the two. Sam had been sobbing at the end of it, and O'Neill had pulled her into a hug, a familiar embrace that Sam had automatically sunk into.

It was brief, and O'Neill had pushed her away, before leaving her in a blubbering mess on a park bench. He'd never seen Sam display so much emotion before. He'd never seen her so raw, and she'd only displayed it because she was with her CO.

It was why instead of going over to his fiancé, Pete had decided to confront O'Neill instead.

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><p>Sam wasn't certain how she'd managed the walk to her car, to start the engine and safely navigate her way back to her lonely house. How could she have possibly done all these things when her mind and body felt so damned numb.<p>

How was she still breathing when her reason for living and not just existing had told her he loved her, but to stay the hell away from him and their… _his_ daughter. _How had it all come to this? _

She'd always believed that if nothing else, she would always have his friendship. Despite all he'd said, she had been his friend. Yes, admittedly, there was always that invisible line that they had to carefully tread as not to accidentally cross it. There had always been that tension between them, that slight uneasiness that she'd never had with either Teal'c or Daniel. Thinking back, she knew it was that physical awareness mixed with respect and hero worship, that had eventually morphed into raging attraction and love.

Jack had been correct that there had never been _just _friendship, but they had been friends with the ever looming possibility of _more. _

But now, that possibility was completely gone, and the part that had always secretly hoped and wished for that _more _felt utterly, and bitterly destroyed. His admission of love had obliterated her heart, shattering every wall and protection she'd ever built to protect herself from him. One single sentence had undone her, and she knew with complete certainty that she would never be the same again.

Still fully clothed in her civvies, she curled deeper into herself on top of the comforter on her cold and immaculately made bed. For once, her mind was blank. She couldn't think past the next few seconds. Life stretched before her, blank; her next breath her only concern. Even that felt too much of an effort, and she wondered briefly how much easier it would be to just stop.

Survival was too ingrained in her, and the thought of giving up on life, no matter how bleak and unappealing was not in her make up. In that respect, she was too much like Jack. Too much like her father. Surrender was not in their vocabularies and it wasn't in hers.

She would have to live her miserable life. She would have to exist in a world that didn't have Jack O'Neill in it, cluttering her existence with inane jokes that never failed to make her laugh, and those brown eyes looking at her with such care and admiration. Instead there would always be sadness and regret as the years went by; perhaps in time, fading into a forlorn memory of what never was.

* * *

><p>Aggravation only grew stronger in him as he waited across the street from O'Neill's house. He'd made sure to get there before the General so he could confront the man outside. He wanted to be on neutral ground and maintain the element of surprise. If he wanted to get his answers, he needed catch Jack O'Neill at a time and place he wasn't expecting it, perhaps pushing him slightly off kilter.<p>

But the man had taken his time getting there, and now he was the one feeling unbalanced. He could feel the adrenaline still coursing through him, and the need for confrontation rose steadily as the minutes passed.

He'd made sure to keep his service weapon locked in the glove compartment of his unmarked police car. This was unofficial business, and if things got ugly between him and O'Neill then he didn't want anyone getting hurt.

A few more minutes passed until he spotted the General's truck pulling into the driveway. Pete took a deep breath and calmly exited his vehicle, mentally preparing himself for the coming confrontation.

He watched O'Neill tiredly slip out of the truck, the man's posture conveying the low level of his emotional wellbeing. If Pete was going to get his answers, it had to be now.

"General O'Neill?" he called out, putting as much confidence he could muster into his voice.

The General suddenly looked much more alert the moment he realized who was addressing him. His stance was relaxed, but the earlier weariness was gone, and the man was suddenly a blank wall again.

Pete silently cursed at the transformation.

"Detective," O'Neill acknowledged him with a slight nod, allowing a small amount of confusion to appear on his face. "What brings you-" he looked up around the trees, "to my neck of the woods?"

"I need to speak to you about Sam," Pete got right to the point. He figured there was no need to… beat around the bush. He smiled internally at the unintended cliché.

"Oh?" O'Neill said with a little bit of interest. He pushed the cab door closed, keeping one hand on the truck door and the other stuffed into his BDU pants.

"Yeah," Pete replied, unconsciously mirroring O'Neill by stuffing his own hands into his jeans. "I saw what happened at the park." He tried hard not to let his anger come through, but by the shuttered expression on the General's face, he knew he'd been unsuccessful.

"You seem to have a bad habit of doing that, Detective."

Pete shrugged. "I figured it's the only way I can get anything out of you people."

O'Neill raised his eyebrows. " '_You_ people' ?"

"The Air Force," he clarified, almost spitting out the word as if it were something filthy. "I'm not proud of having to follow my own fiancée, General, but I'm sick and tired of being quoted regulations and being told that everything's classified. I wanna know some answers for once, and I'm damned well gonna get them right now."

O'Neill remained seemingly relaxed. "And what, exactly, made you think that I would answer your questions, Detective?"

"Because what went in that park had nothing to do with the Air Force and you know it!" Pete threw out. "When it comes to Sam, I have every right to know what's going on with her. Why she'd let her boss, of all people, manhandle her that way!" Pete's voice had steadily risen, and he found himself almost at O'Neill's face.

The whole time, the General hadn't moved. He still stood at the exact same spot, but Pete could tell he was on the defensive by the tight look on his face. He'd given a small wince when Pete had used the word 'manhandled'.

Good. Pete wanted him to start reacting.

"Then maybe you should be asking her that instead of making a scene in my front yard." O'Neill subtly glanced at the house across the street, and Pete saw the twitching curtains.

"I'm not leaving until I get my answers," he told the General. "I wanna know how long you and Sam have been going around behind everyone's back. Was it from the beginning? Am I just some beard to cover up a torrid affair? Did she accept my ring to make it more convincing for the two of you? Is that why she insists on waiting until our wedding night to be completely with me? I wanna know, O'Neill!" He was practically yelling by the time he'd finished to take a breath, and the steely look in the other man's eyes wasn't making him feel better.

He'd expected several rebuttals, not this cold silence, so pushed harder. "Just tell me how long Sam's been screwing you behind-"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, Detective Shanahan," O'Neill interrupted him, a warning in his voice. He crossed into Pete's personal space, so that he was looking down to meet him eye to eye. "Carter deserves better than someone who would question her integrity like that. She deserves better than either of us, and you should count yourself lucky that she's willing to marry you despite you being a complete and utter moron for thinking she'd sink that low."

"You expect me to believe that what I saw is normal behavior between a subordinate and her commander?" Pete said in incredulity. "Do you treat all your people like that? Throttle them then practically make out with them in broad daylight?"

"Go home, Shanahan," O'Neill said with finality. "I deal with enough delusional idiots without having to add your name to the list."

At his dismissive tone, Pete lost the threadbare control he'd been hanging on to. "I'm not done," he spat out. When O'Neill made to walk away, Pete grabbed his arm. O'Neill shook him off to back away, and without much thought, Pete found himself swinging, connecting with the General's face, causing him to lurch forward and the General to land backwards on the side of his truck.

"_Daddy!_"

The panicked cry halted both men.

Pete whipped his head towards the source of the distressed small voice, and his gaze landed on a familiar looking face, that had his blood suddenly freeze in his veins.

"Cassie! Get her inside the house right now," he heard O'Neill bark out.

Cassandra stared at the scene for a moment, before finally reacting, and pulling the protesting little girl with her towards the house.

Pete followed the sobbing girl with his eyes. "Oh my god…"

He found himself being slammed against the F-250 with a very angry General breathing down his face. "I'll give you that one shot, Shanahan, but you stay the hell away from my family from now on. You understand me? I find out your following any of us around, including Carter, I'll be escorting you to the nearest Jaffa-infested planet for a very personal taste of what Carter calls classified."

O'Neill abruptly let him go and stalked off, not bothering to check if Pete was gonna go after him. The detective pulled himself from the side of the truck, his knees now feeling weak, the adrenaline finally rushing out of him.

Despite having hit the General, all he felt was defeat. One look at the sobbing little girl, with her wide cornflower blue eyes, and he'd felt like his whole world had been tilted on its axis. Everything he thought he knew had irrevocably changed in a blink of an eye.

* * *

><p>The shrill sound of the house phone shoved Sam back into wakefulness, making her realize that she'd cried herself into exhaustion. Her eyes were crusty with salt from the copious tears she'd shed way into the late hours of the evening until sleep had finally given her some blessed relief.<p>

Faint sunlight filtered through her haphazardly drawn drapes signalling the beginning of a new day. She glanced at her alarm clock before reaching for the still ringing phone. _Seven o'clock. _Had it only been over twelve hours since her world was shattered? _It feels like forever. _

She stared at the noisy device in her hand unable to summon the energy to actually push the green answer button. Pete's cell number flashed at her and the thought of having to deal with him as well as her crumbling world left her feeling even more exhausted.

Sam closed her eyes and dropped the phone on the floor. _He'll just have to wait. _

Pete eventually gave up after another two rings and left a cheery message on the machine that was in living room. She couldn't make the effort to really listen. It felt too good to just lie there and ignore the rest of existence.

Her breathing evened out and she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next time Sam woke up, the sun was higher in the sky. Her military-trained internal clock refused to let her sleep another wink and she reluctantly rose out of bed to take a much needed shower. Her crying fit the night before had left her face feeling sticky and her nose had been rubbed raw with repeated wiping.<p>

Despite the bleak cloud that still hovered over her, the sleep-in had done some good, and her mind was a lot clearer than the night before. A hot shower would make her feel human again and far more ready to face what was ahead.

She was certain now of what she had to do.

She had to end things with Pete.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh yes, she's finally gotten there. What do you all think of Pete at the moment? I'm not hating on him. He's hurting too... Specially since he got all up on that gorgeous O'Neill face =D Bonus Points for those who recognize the chapter title WITHOUT Googling. <strong>


	16. The Face That Launched An Ancient Ship

**Thank you all for your extraordinary patience. Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter. Some of you have been worried by my absence, I promise, all is well, just been busy with life. **

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 16: The Face That Launched An Ancient Ship<strong>

General Jack O'Neill lowered his military-issued ballistic Oakleys to better see the suddenly blinding terrain as he stepped out of the SGC's artificially-lit gateroom to the overheated globe where the outpost was located.

To his right, he saw Ila do the same. Hours before they were to dial out, the boys had eagerly accompanied her to Siler's to get kitted out for their mission that morning. Hammond had authorized her to leave the SGC through the gate, provided that Jack himself kept a close eye on her. She was their most valuable asset in the fight against the Goa'uld, and if an outing back to where they'd found her would help soften her up into helping them, then sending a General through the gate as a babysitter was a small price to pay to achieve that objective.

Jack was just happy to go through the gate again without the risk of being zatted, painsticked, or imprisoned by some overly dramatic narcissist who could double for Liberace. Although there was always a chance that some nasty character like "Bocce" could show up, he was confident that at least the percentages were in his favor.

Not one but three teams were assigned to guard the outpost. There was already talk at Homeworld Security of permanently assigning a science team and SGC personnel once they'd determined that the place was safe. They might have to move the gate closer to the outpost and install an iris, but the President was willing to invest resources for the larger returns in technology.

Daniel and Jonas had both quickly volunteered for the job of resident interpreter. Only one of them could go, and the men had given each other chagrined looks when this became clear. There had always been potential for conflict there, but Jack knew that whoever he chose to send, the other would accept his decision and would not resent the person who was given the job.

"_The oceans are gone." _Ila noted in that usual calm that he was becoming familiar with.

Cradling his P90 to his side, he indicated a finger up to the sky. Ila smiled at the bizarre gesture, bowing her head slightly in understanding.

They were all dressed in desert camo, including Ila who looked out of place and ill at ease in the masculine gear. He figured that she was used to finer attire and found the utilitarian clothing at the SGC uncomfortable. She was three inches taller than Carter, but the Colonel's other measurements seemed to fit her well enough; just as well since Carter's sizing was the only ones they had in stock at such short notice.

The SGC didn't get a lot of new personnel due to the high security clearance needed to work at the facility, and the necessary skills required to be even considered. The very nature of what they did under the mountain meant that very few people were found qualified for the job requirements. That resulted in few transfers from other bases, and any new recruits were planned for weeks in advance, giving the SGC staff ample time to organize the required kit.

SG-2 were in charge of patrolling the perimeter of the outpost. Jack spotted Ferretti nearby and gave him a nod. The Colonel executed a lazy salute with his middle finger then winked at him.

Jack shook his head. He was glad that his promotion hadn't changed Louis's irreverent attitude towards his superior officer. Jack figured, accepting full responsibility, that his former special ops subordinate had learned from the best.

"_You are a highly regarded leader, Jack," _Ila commented as they approached the entrance of the outpost. She looked at him sideways as they walked. "_That is a rare achievement for one who has to make such difficult choices of life and death." _

He almost burst out laughing. One of his men had just given him the finger, and she thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. _Did Lantians have sliced bread? _

Jack felt uncomfortable listening to her compliments. He was nothing special. He was just good at doing his job. He cleared his throat before replying. "_We've all been through many shared battles. People become close that way." _

Ila smiled at him. "_Yes, I can see that." _

Kawalsky, an MP5 slung across his chest, was standing guard by the outpost entrance. He pushed off the wall he was leaning on when he saw Jack and Ila approaching.

"How's the first day, Charlie?" Jack asked the full-bird colonel as they stopped in a shaded area under a stone awning.

"Can't complain," Charlie grinned. He hiked a thumb behind him. "Specially since the wife's found the medical version of a candy store in there. Been taking samples of samples they found in her lab," he said inclining his head at Ila.

Jack took a peek at Ila. He could've sworn her lips had twitched in amusement at Charlie's comments. Ayianna had been able to decipher their language pretty quickly; he wouldn't be surprised at all if Ila had been quietly learning to understand English.

Charlie's smile wavered as he got a better look at Jack's face. The colonel raised his eyebrows in perfect imitation of his wife. "Rough morning?"

"As you were." Jack chose to ignore the comment and led Ila inside the dimly lit corridor.

The entrance they had found turned out to be one of many. The main entrance of the large building had been buried under sand dunes. The concourse, once brightly lit when viewed from the inside, now seemed more like a cavern with the exterior skylights and large glass panels now darkened by mounds of sand.

As they walked around the still unexplored areas of the outpost, Ilana recounted the place's former glory. It had been beautiful, she said, overlooking the light blue ocean that often times seemed to melt into the cloudless sky. Looking into endless desert, Jack found it hard to imagine that anything as vast as an ocean ever existed there.

At some point in their tour they bumped into Doctor Lee's team who had been charged with exploring the bowels of the building. The academic looked like he hadn't slept in days with clothes rumpled, scraggly beard, and jumpy as hell from what Jack can only assume was litres of Air Force standard-issue coffee sloshing through his digestive system.

"... I can't even begin to tell you how this desalinator will transform the way we process water," Lee expounded on the large car-sized machine in the middle of the room. "I mean, not only does it separate out sodium chloride, it also removes any impurities present, microbial or otherwise! It's absolutely incredible," Lee said in awe as he patted his newest find.

"_He is quite fond of our water processing methods," _Ilana observed with a small smile. "_Perhaps you should ask him where the deuterium is collected." _

Jack raised his eyebrows in astonishment. Clearing his throat, he translated Ilana for the benefit of the scientist.

Lee's expression could only be described as comical. He'd been holding an empty cup of coffee, and the metal mug clattered to the floor at the same time as his jaw had dropped.

"Gen-" Lee begun, then shook his head as if to clear it of cobwebs. "_Jay!_" he suddenly hollered for Doctor Felger. He wandered off without preamble, muttering to himself. Felger appeared a few seconds later, and grinned when he realized who was there. Jack shifted uncomfortably at the look of hero worship being sent his way.

"General O'Neill!" Felger said with much enthusiasm, which quickly transformed into a frown as he regarded the General. "What happened to your face?"

"Not now, Jay," Lee warned the scientist as he pushed the overly-excited man to their makeshift work area. "I need you to get those laptops hooked up to the desalinator now!"

"But I thought-"

"Now, _Jay_!"

Jack rolled his eyes as the two scientists squabbled, making Ila giggle. The sound was so genuine and familiar, it squeezed something inside of Jack. It was the exact same kind of sound that Carter used to make when he made her laugh.

He pulled Ila out of the large room and led her back up the now functioning lifts, thanks to four naquadah reactors they'd rigged up to power critical systems.

Ila regarded him with concern. "_Are you well, Jack?" _Her gaze flickered to the livid bruise that circled his right eye and spread to the bridge of his nose.

Thoughts of Carter had darkened his mood considerably. He'd been restless most of the night, unable to think of anything apart from their confrontation in the park then the incident with Shanahan outside his house. Confessions were supposed to be good for the soul, but all it did for him was make things even more awkward than they already were.

Facing Carter the next day and the day after that filled him dread. She now knew the depth of his feelings and that made him feel entirely vulnerable around her. The veneer of sarcasm and humor was his usual way of diffusing uncomfortable situations, but with Carter he no longer had the strength to pretend. She'd stripped him raw and bleeding. The only tactic left to him was retreat.

Ilana looked on him with concern when her inquiry remained unanswered. Seeing the distant look in his eyes, she exited the elevator at the concourse level and waited for Jack to follow her towards another section of the building, close to the labs where they found her.

She kept moving past the laboratory and the location of the control chair, until they arrived at a dead end.

Jack lifted his eyebrows. "A bit lost, are we?" he said in English.

Ilana ignored him and waved a hand over a lit panel that Jack had assumed was a lighting fixture. His knowledge of Ancient technology was fairly basic. While he could ingest quite a lot of information much faster than other humans were capable of, he still needed to assimilate it. He didn't have a complete working knowledge of the outpost's systems downloaded in his brain. It was one thing to read the manual for turning on the lights and opening doors. It was entirely another to figure out every system within the building.

The wall in front of them seem to stutter, before finally parting and revealing a small room the size of a closet. Jack glanced at Ila's stoic expression, when she didn't look back at him and simply entered the room, Jack had no choice but to follow her in.

"Cosy," he muttered to himself trying to act nonchalant, but gripped his P90 tighter.

"_You have nothing to fear," _Ilana reassured him. "_I am simply showing you another part of the _myrdhin."

Jack wasn't familiar with the term, but he assumed she meant the outpost itself. Jack put his fascinated expression on, but it was a struggle. "Not much to look at," he said after a pause.

Ilana didn't try to understand him. She reached out to touch the back wall and the wall suddenly parted, activating a screen that was hidden behind the panel. Jack recognized a map of the main section of the outpost, but the floor plan shifted and transformed into a different and unfamiliar layout that Jack couldn't recall seeing when he'd accessed the outpost's blueprints.

She selected a section and Jack experienced the familiar sensation of an Asgard transporter. He blinked slowly. Ila moved forward, the door of the closet parting open, revealing a completely different corridor from where they'd started.

"_Where are we?" _Jack questioned Ila. He craned his head up to see the towering glass ceiling that spiraled upwards to a distant point. The roof tapered into a cone shape, the room they were in a perfect circle surrounded by glass and metal walls.

Ilana stood perfectly still in the middle of the room with her eyes closed. Jack waited a full minute before clearing his throat.

"_I spent much time here," _Ilana explained, her eyes still closed. "_It is a place for contemplation, to reflect on one's existence and prepare for the path of ascension." _She turned to look at Jack. "_I was not very good at it," _she smiled ironically. "_Fitting, I suppose, that I am the last of my race to be left in corporeal form." _

Jack felt distinctly uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. He wasn't very good at this sort of 'meaning of life' stuff. This was Daniel's department since he'd done the whole glowy thing, before he pissed off the 'The Others' and they tossed him back to the mortal plane for being naughty. "_I don't…" _He trailed off not really knowing what to say.

Ilana suddenly laughed. "_I do not expect you to meditate with me, do not worry!" _

He couldn't help letting out a relieved sigh. "_Then what are we doing here?" _He spread his arms wide to indicate the large circular room. He personally couldn't see how anyone could be comfortable in such a huge space without any furniture.

"_I needed to see that it existed, that something of my previous life has survived," _she replied sadly. "_You are the closest thing to what I am, a part of my people lives in you," _she reminded him, referring to his Ancient genes. "_It felt right to share our legacy with you, Jack." _

Jack glanced around, trying to see with new eyes the appeal of the Ancient tower. The wide glass panes of the roof was now covered in layers of golden dust from the desert winds. But he could imagine them in their former glory, displaying the inky night sky. "_A beautiful place to look at the stars." _

"_It was," _Ilana agreed_. "I spent many nights here looking up at the sky that no longer held any mystery for my kind, but still brought me comfort and beauty. Perhaps if I had not allowed such distractions, ascension would not have been so difficult." _

Jack wanted to ask her so many questions, but it felt wrong somehow to interrogate her at such a vulnerable time. Normally he wouldn't hesitate, it was his job to find out as much as they could about Ilana's history. On the other hand, General Hammond and the President had been very clear that he was not to alienate Ilana. He was to befriend her, gain her trust, get her to see the wisdom of helping them.

He found befriending her a lot simpler than he'd anticipated. She was the no-nonsense type he'd always liked in a woman which made things a lot easier. Being an Ancient, she was smart, but wasn't arrogant like the Tollan were, or condescending like the Nox. Best of all, she didn't confuse the hell out of him like the rest of her race, Oma and Orlin coming into mind. Even Daniel had got all up on himself when he'd ascended.

"_I can depart if you prefer," _Jack offered. He winced at his lousy grasp of Ancient, wishing Ilana would hurry up already and pick up English like Ayianna did.

Ilana smiled sadly. "_It is not necessary. The path to ascension is not dependent on places such as this. It is a full awareness of one's being and the ability to release one's burden. It is clear that I am not yet ready for that task." _

Her smile brightened. "_Come," _she led him deeper into the room, towards a doorway he hadn't noticed was there. "_I have much to show you." _

Jack hesitated for a moment, thinking about radioing his location as per SOP, but to get Ilana to trust them he also needed to show some trust in her. Against his usual reservation, he clutched his weapon tighter and followed her lead.

* * *

><p><em>Daniel, come in. <em>

The sudden crackle of the radio startled Daniel out of his deep contemplation of the Ancient historical notes he'd been studying, making him jump. His empty cup of coffee landed on its side as the large tome he held clipped its edge.

From across the room, Teal'c raised his eyebrows at his skittish behavior, and pulled out his radio. "It is I, O'Neill."

_T! I need you and Daniel to meet me at this location here. _

What was an inactive screen in the far wall opposite the sand darkened windows suddenly came to life displaying a three dimensional map of the facility. Two square bleeps on the screen appeared.

_That's you on the lower level. That's us here in the spire. Meet us up here in ten. O'Neill out. _

Daniel quickly abandoned his study, eager to know what Jack had managed to get Ilana to show him that was so important. The future of their planet depended heavily on her cooperation, and if Jack had accomplished that in such a short time… He couldn't help the leap of excitement in his chest.

* * *

><p>Jack and Ilana's entrance activated the huge see-through screens. The long disused room sputtered to life as they walked further inside, the internal sensors detecting the ATA gene of both occupants.<p>

Jack squinted at the extremely bright lights once the room came to full power. He winced as his bruised eye muscles protested at the sudden movement.

Ilana noticed his discomfort, and approached him. "_May I?" _she reached forward and touched his right cheek. Jack's eyes involuntarily closed at the warmth her touch induced. A few seconds later, his eyes flickered open, and the pain in the side of his face was gone.

Ilana grinned. "_That color of blue did not suit you." _She slowly pulled back her hand and turned towards one of the screens. "_This was my work space," _she indicated the room at large. "_Like my father before me, I was a scientist. Most Lantians spent their days pursuing the path to ascension; others, the few who were too stubborn to accept defeat, worked on ways of defeating the Wraith." _

Jack's ears perked up at the new information. "_The Wraith?"_

"_I am relieved that you have not heard of them. The fact that Terra flourishes means that they have not found a way to travel to this galaxy." _

"_Where exactly are these Wraith from?" _Jack kept his tone even, but inside, his pulse rate had risen and his mind was going a million light years a minute. Another threat, another enemy, another thing to prolong the war.

"_Your question requires a complicated answer. Suffice to say, they do not come from this belt of stars." _

"_So… from a galaxy, far, far away?" _Jack said jokingly.

"_Pegasus." _

Jack's amusement disappeared. _Pegasus. _The same galaxy where he'd sent the Atlantis expedition. Daniel's theory about the genealogy of 'Lantian' went from mere speculation to reality.

"_These 'Wraith'. You were at war with them?" _

Ilana hesitated before answering. She seemed to struggle with herself, before deciding to answer his question. "_They were the reason that we returned to this galaxy. Too many of our people had perished and still the Wraith grew in number and in power. Even with all our advancements, we could not hold back the tide, and eventually we realized that retreat was the only solution," _she smiled grimly.

"'_The evil is too strong to resist. The only way to win is to deny it battle'." _

Ilana gave him a curious look.

"_Just something I heard once… It's one of yours actually. The Ancients I mean," _Jack haltingly explained. "_One of you said it. I just… kinda… put my own twist on it." _He grimaced at the end, feeling extremely uncomfortable with all the spiritual talk. He really needed to stop hanging around Daniel and Teal'c.

_Yeah. Not gonna happen. _

She smiled in understanding, and turned back to the console in front of her. "_But the Wraith is not why I brought you here. Your friend Daniel was correct. It would be wrong to stand by and allow the slaughter and enslavement of many, when I may be able to assist in some way. My people chose to not interfere, because they felt their time in this path was in its twilight, but ultimately, we must all travel the path alone." _

Ilana brought up schematics of a ship. "_This is a gateship," _she began. "_It is an exploratory vessel capable of travelling through the Astria Porta. It was designed for scientific exploration, but also functions as a short-range transport vessel." _

"_You want to give us a ship?" _

"_I want to give you many ships, but my intended purpose at the moment was to utilize the ship we might still have in this outpost to bring you here." S_he brought up a gate address and a planet appeared on the screen. "_Perhaps you might be able to find something there to help defeat the Goa'uld once and for all." _

Jack regarded her for a moment. He'd certainly hadn't seen this coming. He tried to summon some suspicion, the cynical part of him that should say that this was too good to be true, but there was nothing.

He still didn't know what experiment they had been conducting that made her volunteer to be in that stasis chamber, or why they had failed to wake her up after two years, but for some reason his instincts were telling him that she was harmless, and for once, didn't have a shady agenda.

Jack snapped out of his contemplation, and pulled the radio attached to his tac vest close to his mouth. "Daniel, come in."

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><p><strong>We're gonna be taking this story off-world in the next few chapters... And fixing the mess Sam and Jack have made. I love hearing from you guys, so please don't forget to review! <strong>

**Oh, anyone else in the US see David DeLuise in a Purina Beneful ad? Cannot take him seriously... **


	17. The Course of True Love

**I was going to work on PD until I realized just how neglected this fic has been. I've had several people leave reviews asking either to get S/J together already, or to let them know if this has a happy ending. Some have even come out and said they don't want S/J together after reading the chapters so far, and I kinda feeling the whole Jack/Ilana vibe. **

**The end of this chapter might offer up some clues as to where this fic is going. It hasn't been an easy ride, but... **

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><p><strong>Chapter 17: The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth<strong>

"We need Sam on this."

Jack glanced over his shoulder at Daniel before turning back to the laptop he was interfacing to the Ancient workstation in Ilana's lab. They needed to download the information she'd given them to analyze back at the SGC in order to plan out a mission to the planet where another outpost lay abandoned.

"I know," he replied back.

He sensed Daniel nodding. "O-kay. I just wanted to make that clear… that that's not gonna be a problem, right?" Daniel asked hesitantly.

Jack taped up the exposed wires of the cable he'd connected to the inner guts of the Lantian crystal array. "Why would it be?"

Daniel sighed in annoyance. "It's a good thing you have an Ancient healer on hand," he commented, changing the topic. "Makes it easier for you to hide the evidence from Sam."

The control crystal he'd pulled out almost slipped from his grasp. "Dammit," Jack swore under his breath. He glared at the nosey archaeologist, who looked completely unrepentant.

"You have to tell her what happened. You can't let her face him all alone. God know's what he's thinking right now. If he says the wrong thing to the wrong person…"

Jack halted him with a raised hand. "I'll handle it. But this," he indicated at the equipment in front of them, "has to take priority. Let's not forget we are under presidential orders here."

"Why don't you get Doctor Lee to handle this? Go home and talk to Sam. I'll handle everything else here. Considering what she's already given us, I doubt Ilana is much of a flight risk. Teal'c and I will be fine taking care of things."

Jack paused and stared at the still darkened laptop screen. He sighed. He put the control crystal down. "Fine."

Daniel's mouth dropped open in surprise. He adjusted his glasses to cover up his shock. "Um, You're going to see Sam?"

Jack bit his lower lip and nodded. "Like you said, we need her on this. You're right-" Daniel's eyebrows climbed impossibly high at that admission, making Jack grimace. "I can't work with her with things the way they are."

Daniel's mouth worked like a goldfish for a moment before he could find a reply. "Wow," he finally managed. "That-that-" he suddenly grinned. "Did it hurt?" his grin widened even further at the pained expression on Jack's face. "Did it taste bitter? I gotta know, because Jack O'Neill _actually _admitting that _I _was right-"

"Ah!" Jack forestalled any further remarks. "Another word, Daniel, and you're _so _not going to see _that_!" he pointed at the frozen image of the planet. "I swear to God, I'll take _Feljer _before I take you."

* * *

><p>It took several minutes of prevarication before Jack was able to force his left hand to pull the door handle of his truck open. He'd sat there inside the cab, gathering up courage to make good on his promise to Daniel and call a truce with Carter.<p>

His time at the SGC crawled on, with Hammond not quite ready to relinquish the helm at HWS, and that meant having to work with Carter for the time being. There was no question that he would be civil to her and act professionally at all times. But, damn, if it didn't still hurt like hell when he looked at her.

Everything was still too fresh. Nothing may have ever happened formally between them, but it felt very similar that awful moment, what seemed like another life to him now, when Sara had up and left. The wounds he and Sam had inflicted on one another were still raw and bleeding. The stitches he'd pulled tight to close the gaping wound in his heart could easily unravel with one wrong word from her.

The steps he took just to cross her street felt interminable, a lot slower than he was capable of moving. He wanted to rush through it, but his feet wouldn't listen. His body remembered too vividly the pain it felt to be in her presence. Human physiology was hard wired to remember pain better than pleasure. It was as if he was going to the gallows, when in reality all he had to do was make nice.

When Sam finally threw open her front door, Jack had to remind himself not to look away. This was the litmus of whether he could face her at work, or be forced to avoid her completely until he was transferred.

"Sir!" Carter whispered in surprise. It was clear he was the last person she expected to ever grace her door.

He nodded. "Carter." He watched her as she unconsciously stood to attention in his presence. At least her respect for his rank had not altered.

"What can I do for you, General?"

"May I come in?" he asked in a soft tone.

He saw the brief hesitation before politeness and duty overruled her instincts, and she led him inside the house.

Deeper into her open plan kitchen, he realized why she might have hesitated to let him in. For once, her usually immaculate home was in disarray. Boxes of takeout food littered her kitchen. There were clothes hanging off the dining chairs, and the sofa was piled high with newspapers and unopened mail.

"What can I do for you, sir?" He noticed that she'd put the kitchen island between them before asking the question.

"We you need you back in the Mountain today. There's been a development with our guest. There's an off-world mission in the works."

"Walter couldn't just tell me that over the phone?" she asked him with a blank expression.

"Yes," Jack replied softly once again. "But I needed to speak to you in person before you go back to work."

She grimaced as if in pain, then quickly schooled her features. "I won't make a scene if that's what you're worried about," she said, deliberately leaving out the 'sir' at the end.

"I know you won't, Carter. But we ended things… badly. I just wanted to say that I don't want those things to affect our working relationship. I still consider you the best damned 2IC I've ever had, and the SGC considers you its top asset. We're gonna need you on this, and I had to be sure that my presence won't affect you negatively."

"Your 'presence', sir?" She looked at him confused.

"I'll be the mission commander. The C-in-C explicitly commanded HWS that I lead the mission. General Hammond is on his way from DC to take over the running of the SGC while I'm gone."

Sam looked away, then shrugged. "If the President says you have to lead the mission, then my feelings on the matter are not germane. Whatever they are."

"You're right that it won't matter from the President's point of view, but it does matter to me. You more than anyone can understand what disharmony can do to a team out there. I need you to know that no matter what, I've got your back, and I'm pretty damned sure you've still got mine."

She raised her head to look back at him and nodded sharply. "Of course, sir."

"Good. I'm glad we got that cleared up," he nodded as well, then turned towards the door. "Thank you for time, Colonel. I'll see you at the mission briefing at noon."

He walked briskly towards the door and reached for the handle-

"Jack?"

His hand hovered over the brass handle. Instead of grasping it, he clenched his fist and pulled his hand to his side. "Yeah?" he asked turning towards Carter.

She stared at him with the most lost expression he'd ever seen on her face. It broke something inside of him, but his own gaping wounds refused to consider the thought of comforting her.

"Thank you. For coming here. For not… completely turning away."

It was on the tip of his tongue to say 'anytime', but they were way past that point, and he didn't think there was any turning back. So he merely nodded and quickly made his exit.

* * *

><p>Pete made sure O'Neill's car had disappeared around the corner before killing the engine and stepping out of his car.<p>

He'd called Sam repeatedly the night before. He'd kept his tone casual and friendly, not wanting to clue her in to what he wanted to discuss. He'd wanted to do it somewhere public where neither of them could lose their temper and start yelling.

He knew he was very close to losing it, and he needed the distraction of being in a public venue so that he wouldn't go apeshit on her and say something incredibly stupid that he couldn't take back.

Most of the time, he was an incredibly laid back guy. He rarely lost his temper and when he did he was quick to apologize and make up. His divorce hadn't been an acrimonious one. When Michelle told him she could no longer deal with being married to a cop, he'd given her an easy out. Not because he didn't love her, but because he did. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting her any further and he knew begging would get him nowhere once she'd decided to leave. She was a stubborn woman, and it was one of the things that had attracted him to her.

With Sam, it was the whole package. She was everything a guy could want and he fell hard and fast. All he thought about was making her his permanently. But like his ex-wife, she was stubborn. Unlike Michelle, she wasn't always taken by his charm and easy going attitude. She wasn't as open and she really pushed his patience to the limit. But he stuck to his guns, determined to marry her.

When she lied about certain things, he let it go. When she disappeared for days and weeks at a time, and he only found out she was back by unexpectedly showing up at her house, he forgave her for it, reasoning that she had a very stressful career. But what he'd seen out in the park, he couldn't excuse.

When Sam opened the door, she looked more resigned than surprised to see him, which didn't bode well for their coming conversation.

"I have to go to work, Pete. I can't really talk right now."

"This can't wait," he insisted.

He followed her to the kitchen where she was clearing up the dirty dishes piled up on the side of the sink into the dishwasher.

"I need you to explain something for me. I need to understand what I saw at the park and I want you be straight with me."

He watched her defensive walls rise and the tired, almost defeated Sam that answered the door, vanished into Colonel Carter.

She narrowed her eyes at him, her jaw set in annoyance. "Were you following me?! Dammit, Pete, I thought we were over this-"

"I'm not sorry, Sam!" he cut her off, silencing her angry tirade. "In fact, I'm glad I followed you, otherwise I wouldn't have seen with my own eyes what O'Neill did to you!"

"He didn't do anything to me Pete!"

"You call putting you in a choke hold nothing?! Sam, he hurt you-"

"Jack would never hurt me," she replied vehemently.

Pete was so tempted to shake her with reason, but he kept his hands tight to his side. "You have to stop defending him, Sam. He'll just hurt you again-"

"Jack has never laid a hand on me, Pete. He's saved my life over and over again. Don't interfere in things you know nothing about," she warned him off.

"Then don't keep me in the dark. Tell me what's really going on. I have a right to know, dammit! I'm gonna be your husband, Sam. There shouldn't be secrets between us!"

"This has nothing to do with you, Pete. _Please _don't interfere," she suddenly begged him.

He shook his head in the negative. "I _can't. _Not when it comes to this. Not after-" he faltered. "Not after what I saw at O'Neill's house."

Sam visibly stiffened. "You followed General O'Neill to his house? What- why would you do that?" Sam looked panicked and he had a feeling why.

"After what he did to you, I had to do something, Sam. I had to. I couldn't let it pass."

"What did you do?" Sam asked suddenly turning cold.

Pete saw her demeanor and knew he had to ask her what he needed now, or she would shut him down completely. "I saw her, Sam. She has your eyes."

Sam stumbled back against the wall and stared at him with a pain filled expression.

"_Please, Sam," _he pleaded with her. "Explain to me what I saw. If you tell me that she's not yours, that I'm wrong, then I'll believe you. I won't ask again and we'll move on from this, but just please…"

She shook her head in denial, giving a brief ray of hope.

"_I can't," _she whispered. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I can't _deny it,"_ she confessed, shattering his hope just as quickly as it appeared.

She sniffed loudly, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "Don't bother asking me the hows, I'm not at liberty to tell you."

He let out an incredulous laugh. "_Classified?! _You're telling me your love child is _classified_?"

Sam glared at him. "Don't ever call her that. She's not some dirty little secret that you think Jack and I are hiding. If you want to hurt someone, hurt me, but you leave them alone!"

Pete stared at her aghast. "God, Sam! What kind of man do you think I am? Do you think that I would sink so low just to keep you?"

She just stared at him in response.

He laughed again without humor and looked down on the floor in defeat. "I thought… I thought that if I just gave you time..." he shook his head. "I knew from the beginning. When you said 'yes' that you were worth the risk. You still are you know? But it's now clear that I'm not what you want, and I can't- I just…" he looked up at her, his own eyes filling with tears. "Bye, Sam."

He headed for the door without turning back.

"Pete!" He paused in his steps, his treacherous heart hoping that she would stop him.

She handed him a black gold trimmed box. "This is yours," she said, returning the ring he'd given her. His heart sunk, realizing that she'd had it in the box all along. She'd taken it off long before he'd ended things.

He pocketed the box and exited Sam Carter's life.

* * *

><p>"We're gonna need more sunscreen," Jack remarked as they watched the telemetry video the MALP sent back to Ancient Outpost 1.<p>

"On behalf of SG-2, we volunteer!" Ferretti said enthusiastically. He hated the desert, but not sand. "Look at those beaches…" he muttered.

"There is actual work to do, Colonel."

"Gimme that kind of work anytime!" Ferretti's gaze never left the large Ancient display they'd commandeered. Pristine white sand stretched as far as the eye could see, gradually blending into shallow aquamarine waters. Palm-like fronds edged the beaches, shadowing the ascent to the rainforest-covered green volcanic mountains.

Ilana had given them further access to the rest of the outpost, including the Lantian equivalent of a conference room. Lou Ferretti and Charlie Kawalsky had spruced up the place, and as a reward Lou got to sit in on the presentation. Charlie had opted to return Earthside with the doc.

"Isn't your team due a break Earthside?"

"For this we'll work overtime!"

"Then gather your team and suit up at the SGC. Siler and Carter will be joining you at 1700 to gate back here with all the equipment," Jack informed a grinning Lou.

The colonel gave him a jaunty salute as he went off to inform his team of their enviable new assignment.

Jack sighed and sat down at the edge of the conference table, his eyes fixed on the MALP recorded video feed. The images transmitted were not what he'd expected. The Ancients always had a knack for choosing the most inhospitable places to house their outposts, in his experience.

He figured that maybe they hadn't been so bad millions of years ago, but even so they had probably never looked like a Sandal's Resort commercial. One always had to contend with the hottest or coldest climates when dealing with the creators of the gates, not forgetting of course the prevalence of trees.

He thought about his team, and had to grin at Daniel and Jonas deciding on who got to come with him via a game of rock, paper, scissors. Daniel had won and gave the consolation prize to Jonas: he could have the job of chief archaeologist at the Outpost for the foreseeable future.

Jack had wanted to remind them that it was actually he, the General, that got to decide these things, but Jonas' beaming expression had changed his mind and kept his mouth shut. If the two were happy, then who was he to question it?

His smiled dimmed when he thought of the other half of his team. He'd wanted to Teal'c to come as his backup, but then realized that he needed someone he trusted back home to look after his family. He'd confided to Teal'c his fears for Grace, that no one would be there to protect her while he was off-world, something he hadn't anticipated when he'd taken on the role of father once more.

The Jaffa knew about his confrontation with Shanahan. He knew that his biggest anxiety had nothing to do with the cop, but with the Trust and former NID, who would love to use his daughter to get to him, or take her for scientific curiosity. It wasn't everyday that little girls from an alternate universe showed up to stay in their reality.

As much as he trusted and liked Janet and Charlie, they still had their own issues to deal with, and he needed someone he knew he could depend on. So, even when his natural instinct told him to have Teal'c by his side, he allowed the Jaffa to volunteer to watch over Grace at the SGC.

It wasn't ideal and he hated having his daughter in such a dangerous place, but life had taught him a cruel lesson that even a family home wasn't always safe a for a child. He knew that Teal'c would protect his daughter to his very last breath if it came to it, such was the affection between him and his brother from another mother.

He knew Teal'c didn't entirely approve of his one restriction, that Grace not be allowed to see Sam. Teal'c had a soft spot for Carter, and he felt torn at his affections for her and for his CO. He'd informed Jack of just how much this was hurting Sam, but Jack had to stand his ground for his child's sake. It was no longer just about him and Carter. Grace had to come first.

He'd yet to give her a stable home. While his blood hummed with excitement at the mission ahead, he hated having to leave another child behind for the sake of his knew the risks more than anyone, and the thought of leaving his daughter parentless for a second time made him feel like a complete and utter bastard.

He swore to himself then that this would be the last time. He'd push for that reassignment to DC and leave the risk taking to the likes of Ferretti, Carter, and whoever would take his seat at the SGC. He'd given enough of his life to the service, someone precious needed him more.

He pulled out a laminated picture of Gracie from his pocket, her familiar cornflower eyes sparkling back at him with laughter. For a moment, his throat closed up, recognizing Sam's eyes staring at him. In an ideal world, the responsibility of being a parent wouldn't fall solely on him. Grace wouldn't be an orphan if he fell in a mission. In an ideal world, she would've been conceived with his Carter rather than with her alternate, in a loving relationship instead of one based on sympathy and need.

He pocketed his daughter's image and continued his viewing of the MALP data. According to Ilana, they would need transport to access the outpost on the planet. It was deliberately located away from the gate to defend it against unauthorized access.

Ilana was now working with SGC engineers to get the ships back to a functional state. Carter was going to be joining them in a few hours time. Jonas was acting as interpreter, but Jack had his suspicions that Ilana was more than capable of understanding them now, and was on her way to speaking the language soon enough.

He figured with Carter and Ilana working together, the ships would be ready for their departure once day broke on their destination planet.

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

"Hey."

Sam smiled at Daniel's sudden appearance in her lab. It had been ages since he'd visited, being so preoccupied with his recent discoveries thanks to Jonas' persistence with the glyphs from P3X-666.

She was checking off her list of equipment to bring on their upcoming mission, her gadgets neatly arranged on her work table, waiting to be packed onto a pallet destined for the outpost.

"It's nice to see you back in the game."

"I was never out of it, Daniel."

"Still-"

Sam abandoned her list and stared hard at Daniel. "Did you send Jack?" she asked him bluntly, one of her eyebrows raised in inquiry.

"I did," he admitted sheepishly, closing the door behind him. "We really need you on this."

She looked away from him and continued with her preparations. "Is that all?"

"Of course not," he replied back, annoyed. "I hate seeing you guys like this. You're my best friends-"

"More his than mine," she said bitterly.

"You struck the first blow, Sam. What the hell were we supposed to do?"

"Respect my decision!" she snapped back.

"You think he didn't?" Daniel replied with incredulity.

"He turned his back on me when he promised to always be there."

"He didn't think you needed him any more! Hell, Sam, it felt like you didn't need any of us!"

"I always needed you! Just because I wanted a little bit of happiness for myself, it didn't mean that I was abandoning you guys. You're the ones who moved on without me!"

"We never left, Sam. We were always right here, you just had to be there." He thought of all those nights she'd bailed on them with one excuse or another. He and Teal'c had tried so hard to get her to come, but she'd confessed to the Jaffa that she wanted a bit of separation from her work friends and Pete. Apparently, they were a bit intimidating even to a seasoned cop.

"I didn't feel welcome, OK! I felt like you disapproved of my life, my choices, it was like my best friends just shut me out because they didn't like the person I'd chosen to be with. God, Daniel! How many times have you and Jack screwed up off world with some random chick-"

"We weren't marrying any of them, Sam! How the hell am I supposed to support something I think is a big mistake? There I said it. I think you and Pete are a disaster waiting to happen. He's all wrong for you, Sam, and you know it. You know it, because you know exactly who's right for you and you gave up on it, so easily. If you just waited… G-d if you'd just waited a few months, this would be all different… You'd have Grace in your life right now, Jack would've done everything his power if he knew he could have you and her in his life. But you just couldn't wait. You had to move on. For what? For someone who will never appreciate you or ever know the real you. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to ask you to give up everything that means so much to you. And you would've done it too out of guilt and obligation, instead of doing it for the right reasons."

"Then why didn't you say something, huh? If you're my friend why didn't you tell me what you really thought instead of taking his side?" she retorted angrily, tears traitorously escaping down her cheeks. She'd felt so betrayed by all of them. A part of her had always hoped that their friendship went beyond the confines of SG-1.

"Because you wouldn't listen, Sam! I know you! Once you've made up your mind about something, you're determined to follow it through if you thought it was right. I mean isn't that exactly what your father did with Jonas Hanson, and just like with Pete you went and got engaged to him!"

"I can't believe you're using my past against me…"

"You asked why I kept silent. I deal in history, Sam. That's how I determine future actions of others. I base it on their past behavior. When it comes to men, you have a terribly consistent track record of choosing the wrong ones."

"Then how do you know choosing _him _wouldn't be wrong if I have such bad judgement?"

"Because he would choose you, and he has a better track record. I don't know if you know this about _him, _but he doesn't love easily, but once he does, he loves for life. You saw it with his ex-wife. If their son hadn't died, you and I wouldn't be here having this discussion."

"He didn't choose me, Daniel. He never once said anything-" she paused her thoughts going back to that moment in the park, when he'd finally said the words. "He's never indicated that there would ever be a future for us. I can't live like that, hoping for something that may never be. I need something more tangible than forced confessions and moments in the cold darkness," she said thinking of those wonderful nights on a frozen planet where she'd been able to be in his arms. "I need more certainty in my life, not what ifs, not when everyday could be my last day."

"Then live everyday, like it's your last day! Don't settle. Take what you really want, it's not too late. Don't live with regrets like I do. There's so many moments I wish I can take back with Sha're, moments you can still have with Jack. Stop living with regrets and fight for what you really want. He's still here, Sam, but he won't be forever unless you end things with Pete."

"I have. I did. This morning. It's done." Her voice was certain. Resolute.

"You did? Sam-" he looked at her in stunned surprise.

"I finally realized that I didn't love him. That I couldn't ever love him, not in the way I'm supposed to. He was never what I needed and like a fool, I forced myself to think that that was OK. You're right about me, Daniel. When it comes to love, I'm a complete and utter failure. I always choose wrong and when it starts to fall apart, I persist because I can't face the thought of not being able to work something out. Like it was a goddamned experiment, something to analyze and solve, when there's nothing to solve. It just doesn't fit. Who I love doesn't make sense. He just is."

Daniel grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Listen to me, Sam. You're like a sister to me and I love you. If Jack's what you truly want, I'll do everything in my power to make this right."

"What can you do?" she stared back at him with affection laced with scepticism. "He doesn't want me anymore, Daniel. He told me so."

"And like I said, Sam, once Jack O'Neill loves someone, he loves for life."

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think? Will she fight? Is it worth fighting for after all that's happened? Would YOU forgive Sam and is there anything to forgive in the first place? And who else is loving Daniel's tough love routine?! <strong>

**Massive thanks to my lovely reviewers: Kirbydo, Dozi, Jag, PlayItGrand, Kahuna (As always!), Zoser, fnfnzri, Sam600sx, stars90, dp, and other guest reviewers. **


	18. Chapter 18: Stitches

**Let's fix this. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 18: Stitches<strong>

"Like threading a needle…"

The leader of SG-2 took off his cap to wipe the sweat that had broken out on his forehead as Jack narrowly piloted the Ancient ship through the Stargate.

Louis Ferretti had kept his gaze trained at the back of O'Neill's head as the General took control of the ship, willing his superior into not crashing them into the side of the unyielding Naquadah ring.

The General landed the ship gently onto the middle of a mile long white sand beach, bordered by swaying palm trees. The only thing that marked the beach as alien was the unnatural hue of the water that the MALP camera had not picked up.

Daniel practically pushed SG-2 out of the ship with all their camping equipment, completely oblivious to his paradisiacal surrounding, far more interested in the promise of an Ancient outpost nestled somewhere at the side of a mountain.

Lou and his team were perfectly happy to hurry the process along, the men smiling knowingly at each other, all the while with the base commander sending their CO a warning look to behave themselves in his absence.

Daniel signaled for the General to get a move on, garnering him an amused smile from Sam who sat behind Ilana who rode shotgun. Once the hatch was sealed, Daniel hurried back to his seat behind Jack, and tapped him on the shoulder to let him know to take off.

Ilana reached over to the navigational controls and inputted their new coordinates.

O'Neill smiled at Ilana in gratitude, making Sam suddenly feel like the bottom had dropped out of her. The brief feeling of camaraderie she'd felt only a few minutes before faded and she suddenly felt left out once again. It used to be her that the General used to share smiles with. Now, he just looked at her with guarded eyes and weariness. Lately, she often wondered if she'd also lost his trust.

The Puddle Jumper made the steep climb up the side of the mountain in seconds. Ilana entered a code and what seemed like just vegetation vanished in an instant, revealing a rectangular landing pad at the bottom of a structure of Lantian design.

Daniel rose out of his seat to get a better look at what was below them. Even from the air, they could see the age of the outpost. Ivy and moss had manage to creep in despite the shield that protected it from environmental damage.

Jack set down the ship near the entrance to facilitate the unloading of their gear. Ilana had warned him that there wouldn't be any creature comforts, since the Ancients who'd occupied the place had shifted most of their focus to Ascension in the twilight years, and lived an almost ascetic lifestyle.

Since they were riding in style for the first time in a mission, they didn't bother packing light. Carter had three naquadah generators ready to power up the underpowered structure. Ilana had mentioned during the briefing that the ZPM was probably low on power with having to maintain the shield.

Another added luxury were the field beds they rarely ever had the privilege of using, as they were too heavy for use on almost all their missions that demanded hours of hiking. For some reason, which had become increasingly clear through the years, most gates were located outside of cities to protect the people within from not-so-friendly visitors.

Daniel, one to never pack light, seemed to have brought most of his lab with him. Thankfully, he'd skimped on the books, since he'd decided to digitize his most important books to avoid having to ferry a whole library on his back all over the galaxy.

Sam had her computers, and all the other doodads they'd often seen her use back at her lab.

Jack, of course, had his weapons and his usual gear strapped to his back in seconds. He was used to living rough and as far as he was concerned, his main purpose there was to gather intelligence and provide protection for the team. Something he was frighteningly good at and had done for most of his military life.

Apart from a small pack, Ilana had only brought herself and her knowledge to the mission.

Jack told them to leave the unpacking until they secured the outpost. He decided not to split them up since Ilana knew the lay of the land, and it would be far more efficient acclimating them to their new surroundings together with her than if they had divided up into teams.

"Carter, take point."

Sam fell into step with Ilana, with Jack taking the rear with Daniel somewhere in between.

Their resident archaeologist was way too preoccupied with his surroundings to be of any use as backup. The military contingent of the team would have to be responsible for keeping their wits about them should something unexpected happen.

"_I will take you to the _'ZPM'," Ilana told the team.

Sam's head perked up, recognizing the single word she'd understood. She saw Ilana smile at her reaction, making Sam feel slightly uncomfortable with the other woman. Due to the language barrier, she and the Lantian barely interacted. She saw the General nod in acknowledgement and something clicked inside Sam's mind.

She narrowed her eyes at Jack, considering him carefully.

"Sam?" Daniel prodded her forward when she failed to follow Ilana who had paused to wait for them. She quickly averted her eyes and walked briskly to catch up with their guide.

Ilana led them to a familiar looking room, that resembled that of Taonas, complete with a control chair and glowing platform. The only thing that differed was a control console on one side of the room.

Ilana confidently approached the console and with a simple touch, the entire thing lit up with an electric hum. Her hands flew around the displays, her actions too quick for any of her companions to track.

Jack's natural wariness made him suspicious of her actions, but he resigned himself into trusting her, since he really had no choice.

Sam had watched the familiar expression pass through her CO's face, and it made her feel infinitely better. His distrust was something familiar and she knew how to deal with.

Ilana let out a frustrated sigh. "_This 'ZPM' only has a quarter of its power left. When I was here last, it was new. As I had suspected, maintaining the shield and auxiliary systems depleted the energy." _She went through another sequence of commands, and the entire console powered down.

"_Is there anything else worth salvaging here?"_ Jack surveyed the room with a critical eye, thinking they could at least get something out of the trip so it wasn't a complete bust.

"_There are more 'gateships'. As well as personal weapons. This outpost has never needed to use its defensive weapons. The drones should be salvageable." _

"Sir?" Sam didn't like being out of the loop, and his fluent use of Ancient had startled her, but she hid it well.

"The ZPM is at twenty-five percent. It sucks, I know. But they have a full compliment of those drones that took out Anubis's fleet, so that's definitely a bonus. Plus a few thingamajigs I'm sure you can get excited about… Oh, and gateships. Can't forget about those."

"Anything else,sir?" Sam couldn't quite hide the smile threatening to break out. It felt good to be on familiar ground with Jack.

He looked over at Ilana questioningly, not bothering with the pretense of translating what Carter had said.

She didn't disappoint. "_There are tunnels. Built in case of attack. They were meant to be used as a means of evacuation. It is not for certain but there may be ships and other salvageable technology at the evacuation point. However, these escape tunnels are not on any map in the system - for security, should the system be compromised." _

"_Then how do we find them? Or know if they even exist?"_ Daniel asked Ilana with a hint of scepticism.

"_They exist. They were necessary in the event of a Wraith attack." _

"_Those, uh, those aliens that are native to the Pegasus galaxy,"_ Daniel recalled Jack's report_. "Did they manage to get this far?" _

"_Not to my knowledge, but it is unlikely. If they had, the Goa'uld would not be your primary concern." _

"Good point." Jack suddenly felt pained. The prospect of another galactic bad guy hell bent on enslaving them was not something he relished. The current war had already stretched far too long and claimed too many lives. "I guess this means we snoop around," he remarked to no one in particular.

"I don't suppose you have a library or a database I could take a look at?" Daniel asked Ilana in English, clearly catching on to Jack's suspicion that she could now understand them perfectly.

She cast him an indulging smile and canted her head towards the right. "_I will show you." _

Jack pretended to look around for a moment, suddenly feeling the awkwardness return now that he was alone with Sam. He had told her that there would be no problem working with her, and he meant it. He had to forget about their differences and see her only as a soldier if he was to survive her presence mentally intact. So with his best nonchalant expression plastered on his face, and his voice carefully modulated to casual, he used his P90 to point at a direction. "This way, Carter."

"Any particular reason, sir?" Sam asked curiously, her tone friendly, but respectful.

"We have to start somewhere. The opposite direction to Daniel is always a good bet."

Sam couldn't stop her grin. "Of course, General."

"Standard recon. Bust the doors open, check out what's inside. Once we know the place is secure, we'll send for reinforcements to help move the whole kit and caboodle back to Earth and have more eyes looking for these tunnels that Ilana is so sure exist."

"Did she at least give any clues as to how they accessed these tunnels?"

"We didn't get that far into the interrogation, Carter."

"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was complaining."

"Look. We have every reason to be suspicious of her, but I'm under orders to treat her as an ally and was explicitly told to tread very carefully and not piss her off. It's not every day we find a friendly superior being willing to share their knowledge with us. Even our best buddy Thor hasn't been so forthcoming without at least some form of favor in return. There's a good chance that what we find her can finally turn the tide of the war, so for once, as much as it pains me, I'm gonna play nice with the alien."

Sam lowered her head, slightly ashamed. Here she was getting her nose out of joint for nothing. If she was being perfectly honest with herself, Ilana's behavior hadn't raised any flags so far. The Ancient woman had been extremely forthcoming with her team, and the reason Sam felt put out was because she was the only one aside from Teal'c who couldn't communicate with the Lantian directly. For once, someone on her team - heck, the entire SGC - knew more than she did, and that unfamiliar feeling of ignorance rankled just a bit.

Jack had moved ahead and was prying doors open with his KA-BAR knife. They couldn't afford to waste the precious juice from the ZPM, so everything was powered down.

Sam suddenly felt like a moron. With all her distracted dwelling, she could've already done something to help her team without speaking a word of Ancient. "Ah, sir?"

"Yeah, Carter?" Jack said in a slightly strained voice as he wedged open another sliding door.

"Why don't we go back to the power core and hook up the naquadah reactors we brought over? That should at least make opening the doors easier."

Jack dropped his arms to his side and gave her a relieved look. "That's why you're the genius in this contingent."

"I apologize, sir. It should've occurred to me earlier."

"Geniuses are allowed the occasional slow day."

They doubled back to the power core and Jack helped Sam hook up the generators without her asking.

Sam surreptitiously tracked his movements, slightly worried that he was doing it incorrectly, but to her surprise he hooked up the second generator confidently without hesitation. She noticed his hand pause and when she looked at his face he was staring at her knowingly.

Sam blushed and looked away, focusing all her attention on her own generator. She'd been caught spying and the only way it could get worse was if she hooked up her own gizmo the wrong way. She'd never live it down.

From her peripheral vision, she saw him stand up easily from his crouch and step over to where the control crystals were located. "Would you like to route the primary power source from the grid or do you trust me enough to do it?"

Sam cleared her throat in embarrassment. "I apologize, sir…"

Jack suddenly sighed. "Shit," he swore softly. His expression morphed into one of contrition. "Sorry, Carter. Didn't mean to tread on your territory."

"It's fine, sir," she was quick to dismiss his apology. "I appreciate the help. Really."

"I mean it, Carter. You're the best we have, and all this stuff floating around my head due to some unfortunate win in a genetic lottery doesn't make me an expert like you."

She turned even redder at his high praise.

Jack stepped back from the open panel where the crystals lay exposed. "Do your thing. I'll do a brief perimeter check."

By the time the power had been re-routed and the primary systems of the outpost were running on the naquadah generators, Sam had managed to compose herself enough to face Jack without feeling like her face was going to burst into flames.

Their relationship was far from what it used to be, and this was a good litmus test of whether the two of them could function on a professional level after the very intimate bombs they'd dropped on each other. The mission had started smoothly enough, until her doubts and curiosity had set them back several paces from where they'd started. Now she would have to reconstruct that easy camaraderie they'd established earlier on before she had let her suspicions get to her.

They marched through the complex, taking a quick survey of what was inside each doorway they entered. Most of the quarters were mostly empty, with the occasional personal effect and bits of technology Sam tagged for closer examination by another science team.

Jack checked the panels and walls for hidden doorways without any luck. If the passageways did exist, the Lantians had hidden them really well.

They searched thoroughly the last room of the wing they'd chosen and came up with nothing to show for their efforts. "Anything?" Jack asked Sam when she exited the room she'd been inspecting.

"Sorry, sir. I think our best bet is to ask Ilana."

Jack let out a frustrated breath. "Yeah. She was kinda vague with the location."

Sam tried to lighten up the situation. "I did find some fascinating new equipment."

" 'Fascinating', you say," Jack tried to sound interested. It had been a long day, and their fruitless searching promised to make it seem longer.

"It's OK, sir. I won't do a Daniel on you."

Jack looked relieved, and leaned sideways against the dead end of the corridor. "Thank you, Colonel. That's incredibly gen-"

Whatever Jack was about to say was abruptly cut off when he suddenly melted into the metal wall he'd been leaning on and began to disappear. Sam reacted instinctively and made a grab for her CO, but his greater mass pulled her forward instead of her pulling him back.

It seemed that they'd found those tunnels after all.

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><p><strong>Working on the next chapter already, so an update should follow soon enough. Feel free to give some encouragement ;-)<strong>


	19. This Distance Between Us

Chapter 19: The Distance Between Us

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><p>Daniel blinked owlishly at the rapidly blurring page as he forced his exhausted eyes to focus on the Ancient text laid out on the glass and metal desk before him. The spirit was so willing, but the body was weak.<p>

He knew he'd blown through several needed breaks from the parched feeling inside his mouth and the long forgotten rumbling down in his stomach. His feelings of hunger was something he was used to ignoring, but he usually had a thermos of hot coffee beside him to assuage his thirst. In his haste to get deep into the texts - from past experience, opportunities like the one he'd been currently presented rarely turned out well, and usually ended with some sort of alien attack, or the entire thing being decimated by age and/or weather - he'd forgotten to fill one up or even fire up a Sterno.

Without SG-1, and with only Ilana watching out for him, there'd been no help in that regard. From what he could tell, Lantian physiology held out far better without regular sustenance than normal humans did.

With the dry feeling in his tongue and throat becoming unbearable, and a throbbing of decaffeination starting in his head, Daniel chose to abandon for the moment his precious manuscript detailing the beginnings of the Wraith/Lantian war, and get something to ease his thirst and hunger.

He immediately spotted a silent Ilana still in the same place where he'd last seen her. She was intent on some sort of silver/grey hand held device that she'd picked up in one the labs they'd passed.

"Ilana?"

He watched her deactivate the device before she looked up at him.

"Daniel," she acknowledged him with a small smile.

"I'm gonna get something to eat. Would you like to join me? I'm pretty sure Sam or Jack would've at least started some coffee by now." He indicated back to the direction of the control room they'd left his team in hours before.

"_They have not," _she told him again, her expression remaining the same. She stood up and preceded him out of the records room.

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it as Ilana glided further out into the corridors, leaving him alone to follow.

"What do you mean?" he asked, suddenly concerned, as he caught up to her.

"_They have not made coffee_," she glanced sideways at him while they continued down the windowless, artificially lit hall.

"How do you know?" he probed further.

They stepped into the empty control room, confirming Ilana's statement. No coffee smell welcomed them, or any of SG-1 in fact.

Daniel reached for his radio. "Jack. Sam. Come in." He waited a few seconds before trying again. After a few more seconds of silence, he frowned at Ilana.

"What's going on?"

"_Your communication device cannot penetrate inside the tunnels." _

"Tun… tunnels? What... Did I miss a check-in? I was a bit preoccupied…" he drifted off.

"_You did not. Your friends found the tunnels. I've been tracking their progress with this," _she raised the device she'd been playing with earlier.

"Oh," he said taken aback. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place? Could you use that thing to talk to them?"

"_I cannot." _

"Then we could just follow them..."

"_Daniel?" _

"Yes?"

"_I could not help but hear your discussion with Jonas back at your base." _

Daniel tried to think of which conversation she was referring to, since he and Jonas had had long discussions in front of her before she'd let on that she understood everything they were saying.

"_You expressed concern regarding Colonel Carter and Jack," _she clarified further for him.

"Oh! That. Um, yeah. Sam and Jack have a very, um, very, let's just say 'complicated' relationship."

"_They feel affection for the other, but deny themselves for the sake of duty." _

"I guess that's the simplest way of putting it," he said suddenly grinning.

"_You also expressed a solution to this quandary." _

Daniel started nodding, starting to catch on. "I may have said that all they need is some time to be alone together to sort things out."

"_I am confident that your friends will eventually find their way back to us, but the trek through the jungle will not be easy or without its hazards. Are you certain you wish for them to continue without our assistance?" _

Daniel thought through what Ilana was proposing. Jack would probably shoot him for effectively stranding him in a jungle without supplies and just Sam for company. Maybe not so much for the latter. Still, once he got back, he was definitely going to be pissed - if he were to find out that Daniel was involved in the stranding, albeit passively.

Could he actually go through with it? Deliberately put his friends in potential danger to once and for all, save their relationship? That was a tough one.

* * *

><p>When Ilana had said that the Lantians had constructed escape tunnels in case of attack, Sam had pictured something out of Indiana Jones, dark passageways roughly carved underground with spiderwebs and root systems hanging from the ceilings.<p>

She at least got the underground part right. She really should have known that the Tok'ra weren't the only ones who'd perfected crystal tunnelling technology, and the Lantians probably had a head start on the fine tuning.

The first thing that struck her was the air quality. The Tok'ra used air scrubbers to remove carbon dioxide from the tunnels and convert it back into a nitrogen/oxygen mix. The process while sufficient, still left old tunnels smelling slightly recycled. The Lantian equivalent, despite its long disuse had no discernible difference in quality from the air inside the outpost.

"Carter? As much as I'm _enjoying _our position here, my ass is getting cold."

Sam finally looked down from her musings and back at where she'd ended on top of her boss. "Oh!" she scramble away from the General, feeling like an idiot for forgetting his presence under her, which normally wouldn't happen, but it wasn't everyday she stumbled into a technological haven full of new things to study.

Jack jumped to his feet and dusted some imaginary dust from his green BDUs. He did a 360 of the smoothly and evenly constructed tunnel that looked to be made of black glass. "This is nice. Very 80s decor. Just needs a few neon lamps and some Stevie Wonder playing. "

"It looks like they used the same core technology as the Tok'ra, but I'd say a far more advanced implementation."

They couldn't see very far into the tunnel as only several meters of the corridor was lit up.

Jack grabbed his radio. "Daniel, come in."

His signal was met with static. Jack repeated the the call to no avail.

"Alright, any idea as to how we can get back up to where we came from?"

Sam used her P90's flashlight to check the walls around them. When they found nothing after ten minutes, Jack directed them to continue on down the tunnel to search for an exit.

"Ilana did say it's an escape route. The key word being 'escape'."

"Sounds good to me, Carter," Jack indicated with his P90. "Lead on."

After only a few minutes of walking they were faced with another wall identical to the other end of the tunnel.

"Not much of an _escape_ route if there's no actual means of _escape_," Jack complained in his familiar 'I'm losing my patience' voice.

"Maybe they designed it so that if they were somehow followed by unfriendlies the entire network wouldn't be compromised."

"Then it's a perfect design, Carter. I'm certainly not seeing it."

"There has to be something, sir. It might not be obvious, but it's got to be here."

They started pointing their P90 lights once more to scrutinize every inch of the wall on both sides of the tunnel.

It was Jack's enhanced eyesight that finally allowed him to see the recessed area in the otherwise smooth wall.

She was startled when he suddenly grabbed her hand, his grip firm and strong as if warning her not to let go. But there would be no struggle on her part. Beside him was always the safest place she'd ever felt in her life amidst all the firefights, prisons, and torture they'd endured together. Instead, she entwined her fingers with his, and held on even tighter.

"Sir?" she asked needing to say something for appearance's sake, not because she didn't trust him or his instincts.

"I see something on the wall here, and I'm thinking if I touch it, I don't want to go poof and leave you stranded."

She squinted at the part of the wall he'd indicated and was hard pressed to distinguish anything different from the surface.

"It's right here," Jack held on to her hand with his left and reached towards the wall with the other.

This time, unlike when he'd leaned into the wall, transport beams similar to that of the Asgard engulfed them. When the bright light dissipated, they were in another tunnel that was larger in circumference than the one they'd just left. More importantly, they could both literally see a light at the end of it.

"I spy an exit, Carter. Shall we?"

Sam acknowledged him with a nod.

Jack cleared his throat and let go of their still entwined hands, this time taking point. They emerged from the tunnels into thick vegetation, passing through an invisible barrier that protected the inside of tunnel from the wild environment at the mouth of the exit. Jack had the presence of mind to grab Sam's hand once again when he felt the sensation of the barrier.

Once she let go of the general's hand, Sam tried to stick her hand back through the forcefield and was unable to penetrate it. Jack did the same and his hand went through without incident.

He pulled his hand back and wiped the sweat that had immediately formed at his hairline from the far more humid temperature on the other side of the forcefield. The tunnel was well camouflaged by vines hanging down from the side of the moss covered mountain face that rose well above the towering vegetation.

They could see a cloudless bright blue sky beyond the jungle canopy, but light was filtered to green where they stood. A combination of sweat and moisture from the air soaked through their clothes in the minutes they had left the controlled environment of the tunnels, the heavy material of their BDUs a suffocating blanket that they quickly shucked off leaving Jack in his black t-shirt and Sam in her standard issue tank top.

They both tried their radios once more without success. Wherever they had ended up, it was either outside radio range from the base or something was interfering with the signal. The end result was the same: no contact with the rest of their team, and no supplies apart from the ones that they were carrying when they'd disappeared inside the tunnels.

"You said this planet had a 30 hour day, Carter?"

"Yes, sir. We should have another 7 hours of daylight based on our calculation of the planet's rotation - assuming we're still around the same latitude and longitude where we landed."

"Plenty of time to continue searching for whatever it is that we're looking for and maybe find a way back to the Outpost."

"A ship would certainly do it."

"That's the spirit, Carter. I like how you think."

Sam looked side to side. "Any ideas which way, sir?"

Jack turned his back on her. Ever since the Asgard futzed with his body he'd had some sort of special awareness when it came to Ancient technology. He had to really concentrate on specific things, but the common things, like how to open locked doors or rig reactors, came to him naturally.

He worried his lower lip, scanning the forest in front of him. In the end he went with his gut instinct and pointed straight ahead.

As a testament to her sometimes blind-faith in him, she didn't hesitate at all to follow him as he moved forwards in the direction he'd chosen for them. If he was wrong, she wouldn't say anything. They'd come up with another plan until a solution finally presented itself, and it would be another save by SG-1.

The sun was low in the sky and dusk had settled over the rainforest that reminded Jack of his stint in the Hawaiian islands, by the time he decided to stop for the night. He'd wanted to cover more ground, but the shallow looking river in front of them convinced him that it was a good a place as any to settle in for the night.

Small waterfalls that looked like wide steps created a cascading effect with the startling blue and green water. With the light dimming, Jack was able to ascertain that the minerals that had settled as silt at the bottom of the pools had luminescent properties, as the caves created by the carving motion of the river underneath the waterfalls were softly lit in the gloom.

The edge of the river was bordered by wide flat rocks that sloped gently into the water, tropical flowers almost neon in appearance bursting from bright green ferns, and the occasional tree that resembled mangroves.

Vines upon vines hung thickly from giant trees that curved and meandered sideways and skywards, with alien foliage carpeting the fat gnarled trunks, interspersed with aromatic flowers that subtlety perfumed the air.

They collected dried-out vines hanging from the oversized tree trunks to start a fire. While they weren't in any danger of getting cold, they had no idea what sort of wildlife came out at night. From both their experiences, a good campfire usually kept the beasties away. There was also something psychologically warming about having a fire at night, something reassuring about the crackling and popping that helped them feel a measure of safety.

The abundance of good-sized rounded rocks by the edge of the river was ideal to construct a fire-ring, and wordlessly they got the fire started, each familiar with what had to be done. Survival was an easy thing for them, familiar. They were trained for this eventuality and having each other's back was comforting, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

They both had stainless steel flasks and they used those to boil water from the river. They snacked on energy bars in silence, both contemplating the turn of events that placed them in their current situation.

Jack's first thought was for his little girl. He'd promised her that he would return in a couple of days and she'd become very upset insisting that he shouldn't go. She'd clung to him in a sobbing mess as he'd handed her over to Teal'c, one of the few people who he trusted with Grace. Both Janet and Charlie had assured him that they would help out Teal'c should problems arise. While he knew she was in capable hands, and that Janet and Kawalsky had been taking care of his daughter far longer than he'd known of her existence, he still felt that urgency to return home and be there for Gracie.

Where Jack felt the need to get home, Sam's feelings were far different. As she watched his darkened profile illuminated by the fire and the luminescent riverbed, she couldn't help but think that this was the chance she'd been hoping for. This was precious uninterrupted time that he couldn't run away from even if he tried. They had to depend on each other for survival and she knew from past experience just how much those times had brought them closer than any two human beings could get without actually crossing that line.

If they were ever going to fix things between them this was their chance. She needed to be completely honest with him and tell him exactly what she was willing to give up to have him and Grace in her life. He needed to know what happened with Pete and why she'd agreed to marry him in the first place. She knew she had not covered herself in glory with that relationship, and that she'd potentially torpedoed any chance she might have had with Jack. She'd had her reasons though, and he needed to hear it directly from her. It was an entirely different matter if he would be willing to accept them.

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><p>And it begins ;-)<p> 


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